West Ham's Kurt Zouma bombarded with racist abuse and death threats on social media after footage surfaced of him kicking his cat - with police launching an investigation while Instagram suspend over 100 accounts

Essex police are investigating a flurry of abusive private messages sent to defender Kurt Zouma in which he is repeatedly called the ’N-word’ and targeted with chilling death threats in the aftermath of the infamous cat-kicking episode.

The 27-year-old Frenchman pleaded guilty to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act when he appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court in east London on Tuesday morning.

Footage emerged in February of Zouma - and his brother Yoan - abusing a cat which eventually led to the pair being prosecuted by the RSPCA.

West Ham defender Kurt Zouma, 27, appeared at Thames Magistrates Court in east London on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act

But unusually, the court agreed for Zouma’s address to be withheld, at the request of his lawyer.