A Preston man who rescued a drowning cat from a pond at a Fulwood housing development – only to find another one dead – has shared his anger in a viral Facebook post.

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In the post on Wednesday (30 September), Andy Dunkley told how he found the cats at the Story Homes D’Urton Manor development in Eastway.

“Today while driving home from work, me and my brother noticed a cat stuck in a pond at the new Story Homes site on Eastway. The pond is surrounded in a very slippery plastic material which the cat could not get up and was drowning. We jumped in and got the cat out and took it to the vet, and it was doing well when we left it.

“As we were saving that cat we noticed another cat that was sadly dead in the same pond.

“We approached the site manager at Story Homes and suggested he put some adequate fencing around the pond as whoever fell in there would not get out and his response was f*** off, it’s only a cat.

“So if anyone from Eastway/D’Urton Lane is missing a cat, there is one sadly dead in the pond and the other is at the vets near the White Hart pub.”

Andy’s post has been shared almost 700 times, with many people commenting on their anger at the situation, describing it as “disgusting”, “horrific” and “tragic”.

Others expressed concern at the possibility of hedgehogs and other wildlife also drowning in the pond.

A spokesperson for Story Homes said the pond is under construction and matting is due to be installed within the area.

“We are sorry to hear of this incident and can assure you we have looked into this as a priority with the Site Management team as the welfare of animals is extremely important to us.

“This particular SUDs pond at D’Urton Manor is currently under construction; the pond is secured by a 3ft metal fence, which is surrounded by a 6ft heras construction fence. The sides of the pond are surrounded by plastic sheeting and we are in the process of installing matting within the SUDs area. 

“We can confirm that the pond is secure and meets our stringent Health and Safety requirements, and it is therefore very unfortunate that two cats have ventured into this area and come into difficulty. Our site team will remain vigilant to help prevent any further incidents in the area.”

Read more: Swan rescued and rehomed in Southport after crash landing in Ashton backyard

Local cat rescue volunteer, Jeanette Greaves, said: “House buyers want to know that developers are doing their upmost to keep their sites and equipment safe for people, pets and wildlife.

“Whoever is responsible for the pond should act immediately to make the pond and its surroundings safe, and review their procedures to make sure that this never happens again.”

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What do you think of what’s happened? Let us know in the comments.