THE RSPCA said it is considering bringing a private prosecution after a hamster was allegedly fried to death in York.

As reported in The Press, police launched an investigation after it was claimed a York student put his flatmate’s hamster in a pan and fried it to death during a drunken row.

The incident was said to have taken place in Pope’s Head Court, in Peter Lane, off Market Street.

A 20-year-old student was quizzed by officers but police then passed on details of the investigation to the RSPCA.

A spokesman for the animal welfare charity said: “The RSPCA is investigating allegations that a 20-year-old man who lives in York may have caused unnecessary suffering to a hamster by frying it in a pan. A file is being prepared with a view to bringing a private prosecution under the Animal Welfare Act.”