A LEYTONSTONE moggie is in with a chance of being crowned the nation's perfect witch's cat this Halloween.

Lilly, who lives with owner Jenny Platt, in Steele Road, was shortlisted from more than 1,100 black cats in a competition to choose a feline friend for the Witch of Wookey Hole.

The winning pet will have its portrait hung in the Wookey Hole Caves, in Somerset, where, legend has it, the infamous Wookey Witch lived.

According to the myth, the witch was turned to stone hundreds of years ago and remains in the caves to this day.

Miss Platt, 42, a teacher, said: “I think Lilly's got a very good chance of winning. She's most definitely got piercing eyes, especially in the dark.”

The competition, which saw photographic entries added to the 'National Petrait Gallery' at petraitgallery.co.uk, set out a number of criteria to choose the ideal witch's companion, or 'familiar'.

They include perfectly black fur and the ability to hiss and scare off any unwanted to visitors.

Miss Platt added: “She likes dark places and she likes hiding and then jumping out at things. She looks like a typical witch's cat.”

Other criteria include the ability to balance on a broomstick and having a high-pitched shriek to 'communicate with the witch'.

Miss Platt also described Lilly as an “accomplished spider hunter”, attributes which have put Lilly in the running to become the official cat of the Wookey Hole Witch.

The winning entry, from a shortlist of 13, will be chosen by a judging panel including a pet behaviourist and the actress who plays the witch at the caves.

Owners will receive a £250 donation to an animal charity of choice, a £100 animal gift hamper and a framed picture of their cat in its new role as a witch’s cat.

They will also win transport and entry to Wookey Hole to view the portrait in situ.

To see all 13 shortlisted cats, visit the National Petrait Galley website at petraitgallery.co.uk, run by pet insurers Petplan.