A psychologist has drawn up a frightening profile of a sadistic "cat-ripper" on the loose in north London.

As the reports of brutal pet mutilation mount up, Leila Collins, of Middlesex University, fears the attacker's violent behaviour could escalate further.

The police and the RSPCA are mounting an investigation into 40 suspicious feline deaths over the last ten months,

with attacks spreading across London and into Surrey and Sussex.

In October the Independent reported how a pedigree cat was found decapitated in the Broomfield Park area of Palmers Green.

The killing seemed linked to another attack in East Barnet at the about same time, where a six-year-old cat was found dead, its head and tail removed cleanly with a sharp instrument. No blood was found at the scene.

Similar mutilations have been reported in Edmonton, Waltham Cross, Tottenham and Wood Green.

Ms Collins, a clinical psychiatrist and psychologist, and a principal lecturer at the university, described the killings as potentially very dangerous.

``The sort of people who are capable of doing this are in desperate need of help," she said.

"This kind of disturbance is not going to get better by itself. It seems a very bad sign of criminality, psychopathy and sadistic behaviour.

"If a person with a disturbed mind does something bad and gets away with it their behaviour may get more and more bizarre."

A number of rabbits have also fallen victim to the attacks. It is not known how many.

Barnet RSPCA inspector Nigel Shelton, who is spearheading the investigation, said: "The number of cases where animals have been decapitated or had limbs removed is growing at an alarming rate.

"It has got to be one of the worst, if not the worst, case I have ever seen.

±The incidents are particularly disturbing because it's not a case of neglect -- the cruelty is clearly deliberate."

Meanwhile, a Hackney property development company has put up a £1,000 reward forinformation leading to a conviction.

Anyone with information should ring the

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