Heartbreaking impact infamous ‘Cat Bin Lady’ video has had on life on woman 16 years later

16 years ago Mary Bale was caught on camera putting a cat in a wheelie bin and the clip went viral around the world.

The cat, named Lola, was rescued from the bin by her owner Daryll Mann around 15 hours after being put in there, and went on to live a long life before dying around five years ago.

Bale later said she was 'profoundly sorry' for doing it and called putting the cat in the bin a 'profound moment of misjudgement', but the backlash was massive and dangerous after the footage went viral.

The public outcry was huge, many called for Bale to be arrested and prosecuted, while The Sun created an online game called 'Whack-Cat-Woman' where players trapped Bale in bins.

A Facebook page calling for her death was created and subsequently taken down by the social media site, and the police were called to her house for her personal safety after crowds gathered outside.

The cat was rescued from the bin hours later by her owner, and lived until 2021 (BBC)

The cat's owners said they'd been 'stunned' by people's reaction and urged the public not to 'take matters into their own hands'.

Bale was taken to court by the RSPCA where she pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering, resulting in her being fined £250 and ordered to pay £1,171 in costs, as well as banned from owning animals for five years.

Then the internet largely moved on, while Bale's life continued.

Now the Daily Mail reports that Bale is still feeling the consequences 16 years on as they say she has become a 'recluse', with one of her neighbours telling them she 'resigned from her job in the aftermath of the furore and never re-established a proper career'.

Another of her neighbours told the paper they 'feel sorry for her' since the viral infamy has 'plagued' her ever since, and someone else who lives nearby said the people who knew her were 'broadly sympathetic'.

The cat was named Lola, and the footage of her being put in a bin went viral (CBS)

Back in 2010, Bale had said she didn't think the cat would actually become trapped in the bin and she thought that Lona would have been able to easily escape.

She'd said: "I don’t know what came over me, but I suddenly thought it would be funny.

"I never thought it would be trapped. Cats are good climbers and I assumed it would just scramble out."

In a more official statement at the time she'd also said: "I want to take this opportunity to apologise profusely for the upset and distress that my actions have caused.

"I cannot explain why I did this, it is completely out of character and I certainly did not intend to cause any distress to Lola or her owners.

"It was a split second of misjudgement that has got completely out of control."