A former Millport carer’s ‘morbid fascination’ with skinning animals caught up with him after he showed work colleagues horrific pictures of two skinned stillborn kittens.

Christopher McCann, 37, appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last Thursday and pled guilty to carrying out what Sheriff Alastair Watson described as a ‘bizarre and disgusting act’.

McCann, of Balloch Crescent, also pled guilt to lying to police investigating a separate incident involving the theft of a dog’s body.

Two further charges of stealing the body and then hiding the remains were dropped by prosecutors.

His lawyer Fraser Alexander told the court that McCann, who had been working at Millport Care Centre, had developed an interest in the skinning of animals.

The procurator fiscal said that the fact that he was carrying out the act himself only came to light when he showed photos of the stillborn kittens to colleagues at the island’s watersport centre in January and February 2014. The images showed the bodies held in McCann’s hand, lying in a kitchen sink, a skull left sitting on a kitchen draining board and the kitten’s even laid out in what was described as a ‘crucified position’. The pictures were taken in McCann’s kitchen in the house he shared with his partner and three children.

McCann told one colleague that the kittens were already dead when he ‘obtained’ them.

On another occasion McCann used the bodies for a ‘joke’ - asking one colleague whether they were aware of ‘cats eyes on Ferry Road’ before showing a photo depicting real eyes on the road surface.

After seeing the photos the two witnesses decided to contact police. When officers spoke to McCann on August 10 last year he fully admitted what he had done, explaining that he had a ‘morbid curiosity’ about the process.

Earlier that year, McCann had been implicated in the theft of the body of dog belonging to his partner’s friend. The dog had been buried in the friend’s back garden. However, when the checks were made, the pet’s grave was empty.

The court heard that McCann had been suspected of involvement in the incident, but denied any knowledge of the matter when police came calling in July 2014. Inquiries were dropped because of insufficient evidence, but McCann subsequently handed himself in and admitted that he had lied when he said he knew nothing about the incident.

Mr McCann’s solicitor and the prosecution came to an agreement to drop charges of stealing the body from a property in Barend Street and attempting to hide the remains by burying the dog’s head at the address.

The same charge of theft was also made against McCann’s partner Deborah Murdoch and was also dropped.

McCann’s lawyer Fraser Alexander explained that he had been suspended from his job at the care home and was about to start training in the construction industry. He also reiterated that his client had handed himself over to police to admit he lied to them.

Sheriff Alastair Watson told McCann that he was extremely concerned about the ‘bizarre nature’ of the crime and where it could lead.

He said: “Sometimes the behaviour we hear in the courtroom is so bizarre that it is likely to shock the public. The court has to have regard for such public revulsion when it comes to sentencing.

“I have real concerns about the thought processes in your mind. It could be described as a sick mind and my concern is whether you are capable of something more outrageous.” McCann admitted a breach of the peace by showing the pictures of the kittens to the witnesses ‘placing them in a state of fear and alarm’. He also admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice by lying to police on July 15 last year.

Sheriff Watson refused McCann bail and ordered him to be remanded in custody until sentencing at the end of the month.