THE mutilated body of a black cat discovered laid out in an Edgware graveyard has led to fears someone may be performing ritual sacrifices in the area.

Daniel Mustill, 35, says three of his family's cats have now disappeared in just over four months.

On Sunday the body of two-year-old Coco was found in the cemetery of St Margaret's Church, Station Road, laid out on a grave towards the rear of the property.

He had been cut down the chest, with many of his internal organs taken out, although there was no sign of injury to the rest of the cat's body and no evidence of blood on the grass around it.

Mr Mustill, whose flat overlooks the cemetery, said: “It's really shocking. When I saw it I had to come home and be sick. It looks like some sort of witchcraft of something, like a sacrifice.

“The way it was laid out showed it hadn't been killed by a wild animal or kids, this was deliberate and calculated. I've been having nightmares about it for the last two nights.

“We have had the three cats go missing, two in the last week. My children are really upset, they've grown up with them all their lives now they don't know what's happened to them.”

Mr Muskier, a football coach with Pinner FC Under 9s, said he fears for the safety of animals in the area.

He added: “It's really weird the whole thing. We don't know what's happened to the other two cats but they used to come straight away when you call them.

“They would never go to the other side of the road, there's lots of places to play behind us. We're animal lovers and just can't believe what's happened.

“This is how killers start. They start by killing cats and small animals and move on to people. It's really made me fear for the safety of my children.”

Earlier this year the intact skeleton of a cat was discovered deep in the cemetery and the body of a ginger tom was found laid out, which church officials thought had been involved in a car crash.

This morning a fresh pile of ham and water bowls with cat nuts around had been laid out in the graveyard, something the church administrator Hazel Aucken said she knew nothing about.

She told the Times Series: “It's certainly very strange, I've not seen this before. We have someone who patrols the churchyard to pick up litter and they haven't seen these before.

“It looks like someone's trying to tempt animals. We have found these other bodies but didn't put two and two together.

“We have had occasional problems with street drinkers in here, especially in the summer, but nothing else has been reported to us.”

John O'Connell, who works in Rock Around the Clock a few doors up from the churchyard, discovered the body after being told about it by a customer and recognised it as Coco.

He said: “I'm no vet and couldn't say whether anything was missing but it wasn't killed by an animal or kids, it was definitely deliberate.

“There have been four cats I know of which have gone missing in the area in recent months, which is a lot.

“If I was pushed I say it was someone incredibly spiteful who had done this.”