TOWN councillors in Minehead have refused to allow a memorial to be put up after the death earlier this year of popular cat Gizmo.

More than £800 was raised from an online appeal to cover the cost of a tribute for the cat, who was believed to have been hit by a vehicle.

He was so well known he had 1,400 followers on his Facebook page ‘spotted mineheads gizmo’.

The ginger and white tabby was owned by local resident Angela Chilcott and her family, who asked the council for consent to put a memorial in the Queen Elizabeth II Rose Garden, off Seaward Way.

But the council’s finance and general purposes committee, which is chaired by Cllr Bill Hodson, turned down the request.

Councillors considered the rose garden was not an appropriate site for monuments.

They instead asked deputy clerk Jo Chapman to investigate a potential alternative site which could be more suitable.

Miss Chapman will report back to councillors for them to discuss the idea again.

Ms Chilcott, who wants somewhere permanent for people to be able to visit and pay their respects, said she was waiting to hear back from the owners of another site nearby.

The GoFundMe appeal for Gizmo was set up by another local resident Stuart Thomas and has been supported by nearly 80 people.

Mr Thomas said Gizmo had touched so many people in the town and was known for turning up anywhere in Minehead and making himself comfortable.

Gizmo was credited with having been seen in nearly every business in Minehead during almost a decade in the town, including Butlin’s holiday resort.

The Lidl supermarket was one of his favourite visiting spots and he used to have his own metal head there.

He even had a Gizmo calendar which was sold to raise funds for the Cats Protection charity.