Not such a catastrophe! A black-tipped British shorthaired kitten named 'Oakley' shows great interest in the contents of the collecting box his owner Mike Evans, honorary secretary of Loughton and District branch, uses for the proceeds of the sale of plants outside his house.

Having had a collecting box stolen, Mike now uses a sturdy handmade box which can be chained and padlocked to the table where the plants are sold. At the end of the day Oakley waits for the box to be emptied and counted - trying to undo four screws 'helped' by a fairly large paw is not easy! During the last financial year the branch raised some £12,000..