Cat lover Jenny Sampson has vowed her 19 pets will not be put down despite abandoning an appeal against a legal order.

Mrs Sampson, of Rossmore Drive, Allerton, is appealing for other cat lovers to help her meet legal costs of over £1,600 she has to pay.

But the part-time disc jockey said she was prepared to compromise and is to meet Bradford Council officials in a bid to find a way of complying with a nuisance abatement notice.

Residents had raised a 55-name petition calling for action and claimed the pets - 'adopted' rescue cats - were a nuisance.

Mrs Sampson, 49, appealed against the abatement notice but when the case came before Bingley Magistrates yesterday they were told the appeal would not proceed.

Julia Nelson, barrister for the Council, said Mrs Sampson would now have 40 days to comply with the notice, adding that Council officers would be meeting with her to work on plans to abate the nuisance.

John Martin, representing Mrs Sampson, said the case was unusual in that it related to someone who was valued by the public and respected by the Council for her work with the Prune Park Cat Rescue service, whose animals are not subject to the abatement notice. Accepting the withdrawal of the appeal, magistrates ordered Mrs Sampson to pay £1,636 costs.

Following the hearing Mrs Sampson said: "I'm hoping the Council can come up with something that I'll be happy with and my neighbours will be happy with, but I love my cats and won't have them put to sleep just because they don't like them.

Next-door-neighbour Elizabeth Robertshaw said: "I'm pleased the appeal's been withdrawn and hope she will now comply with the notice.

"It's a pity it's had to go this far and we have tried to tolerate things but it's been awful for us - the amount of faeces we get in the gardens is absolutely disgusting - and has caused a lot of stress."