MEET the animals that have won the hearts and votes of our judges - Worcestershire's bounciest dog, most purrrrfect cat, fabulous small furry animal and our editor's choice pet.

Once again, after weeks of deliberation, 500 pet entries and a whopping 6,000 votes from Worcester News readers, we reveal the winners and lucky runners-up of the Pet Idol 2006 competition, run in conjunction with Wilsons Pet Centres.

Final votes were made by a top panel of judges, including celebrity Joe Inglis, star of the BBC's Vets In Practice.

Each runner-up has been awarded £200 in vouchers and the winner from the three separate categories has £400 to spend in store - meaning there will be a lot of pampered pets in the city this Christmas.

This year, another category was opened for any pet that wouldn't quite fit in the dog, cat or small furry section, allowing owners of snakes, tortoises and even spiders to be in the running for the Editor's Choice award - which carries a prize of £100.

Director of Wilsons Pet Centres Jim Weston said this year had been a lot of fun.

He said: "It was so successful last year and it's fun so we really wanted to do it again. And it is nice to meet the cream of Worcester's pets and their owners."

Pet Idol organiser Sarah Bevan thanked everyone who entered the competition, voted and made it such a success.

See comment in Opinion