11 June 2010 Last updated at 12:24 ET

Corby boy detained after microwaving hamster

A 16-year-old boy who cooked his brother's hamster in a microwave has been sentenced to four months in a youth detention unit.

The boy, who is from the Corby area and cannot be named because of his age, "cooked" the hamster in March last year when he was 15, the RSPCA said.

He had previously admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

Magistrates at Kettering Youth Court also banned him from keeping all animals for four years.

The RSPCA said the golden hamster was put to sleep by a vet after suffering severe injuries. Its right leg had been burned to the bone.

'Cooked alive'

The vet concluded that the hamster had been caused a great deal of pain and would have suffered unnecessarily and for an extended period of time, the RSPCA added.

It said the boy had threatened to cook the hamster on previous occasions.

RSPCA inspector Clint Davies, who investigated the incident, said: "This is an extremely shocking case.

"I don't think we can have any idea how much pain an animal goes through when it's put in a microwave and cooked alive.

"The hamster's leg was burned to a crisp and as microwaves cook from the inside, the organ damage to this tiny animal must have been horrific."