A yob who watched his bull terrier brutally kill his neighbour's cat while he swigged from a can of lager has been banned from ever keeping a dog in his council flat.

Richard Kick, from Esme House, Ludovic Walk, Roehampton, looked on impassively, according to neighbours, while his dog savaged the cat during the incident on Roehampton's Lennox estate last summer.

Some onlookers told police they believed Kick had encouraged his terrier to attack the cat and was actually egging it on.

While other witnesses said he only seemed interested in ensuring he did not spill any beer from the can he was holding.

The incident happened while many people were watching the closing ceremony of the London Paralympics on TV.

Residents told council investigators that when they looked out of their windows they saw that Kick's dog had trapped the cat in its jaws and was growling loudly and aggressively shaking it from side to side.

The dog was even still on the lead, which was being held by Kick, while the attack was taking place and many residents said they screamed at him to stop his dog, but he refused.

Another witness said Kick was more interested in "rescuing" cans of beer, which had fallen on the floor after the bag split. The attack, which had lasted for some minutes, finally ended when the dog dropped the cat from its jaws and Mr Kick pulled him on his lead back to his flat.

The cat died a few moments later.

Councillor Paul Ellis, the council's cabinet member for housing, described the incident as a "despicable and deplorable act of cruelty".

He added: "Our dog control team and the RSCPA did a very good job in bringing the case to court, but I would especially like to thank the many residents who bravely came forward to provide witness statements.

"They were clearly sickened and horrified by what they saw and as a result they stood up and they were counted. They made sure that justice was done.

"Kick has shown himself to be completely unfit to look after an animal and as a result he will never again be allowed to keep a dog in any Wandsworth Council-owned property.

"And if he causes any more problems to his neighbours he can be pretty certain that he won't have a council roof over his head any more."

Kick was subsequently convicted at Wimbledon magistrates court of two offences under animal welfare laws.

He was sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid community work, banned from keeping a dog for five years and ordered to pay £250 costs.