CAT lover Brenda Crooks has devoted herself to her feline friends for more than fifty years.

But after a complaint was made to the council she must find new homes for all but two of them-or face eviction.

Now her neighbours have rallied round to gather a petition which they hope will allow Brenda to keep all nine of her cats.

Henry, Snowy, Fluffy, Milo, Sal, Milly, Molly, Jack and Sooty live with Brenda at Howson Road, Orford.

She has lived there for 53 years and since she was widowed 22 years ago her cats have been her family.

"I won't let it happen, I won't let them take them away," said Brenda, aged 71.

She is known by local schoolchildren as "the cat lady" and has raised kittens for years.

"If people find kittens they bring them to me. Someone brought me my Milo saying he was five weeks old but there's no way he was that old.

"I hand reared him, fed him with a syringe and then weaned him," said Brenda.

She describes her cats as "therapeutic" and her doctor is writing a supporting letter to the council, she said.

Her pets are house cats and rarely leave Brenda's "five star cat hotel".

"They are doing no harm to anyone," she said.

"What really hurts me is you see these council houses that are filthy and a state and people just get moved on.

"I've been here 53 years and my house is fine," she said.

"There is no way over my dead body they are taking them. I don't want to live without my cats," said Brenda.

"I can't let them go. I've had them too long," she said.

Brenda has contacted Helen Jones MP and has got until next Friday, February 29, to find new homes for her pets unless the council's decision is revoked.

Andrew Oates, from Golden Gates Housing, said: "We have received complaints from Mrs Crooks' neighbours regarding her cats.

"Having investigated the complaint we did find that Mrs Crooks kept nine cats which is substantially more than we would normally permit in one of our properties.

"It did though appear that the cats were all well cared for and that Mrs Crooks was very attached to her pets.

"We shall continue to work with Mrs Crooks to try and resolve this matter with her as amicably as possible."

l Brenda spends £45 a week on cat food and litter.

l Her cats dine on roast chickens, tuna and tins of Whiskers.

l All her cats are neutered now, but when they have had kittens previously Brenda has rehomed them.

Click here to see a video of Brenda and her cats