When Sue Rogers' beloved cat Sooty suddenly died she knew what she wanted to do — have it turned into a unique black diamond.

The 45-year-old had the rock incorporated on a gold ring so she can now wear her precious pet on her finger all the time.

Black cat Sooty is now a third-of-a-carat created by a firm that turns dead people and animals into gems. But Sue's is said to be the only black diamond in the world that has been created from a pile of ashes.

The feline is the latest commission for LifeGem and the service is becoming more popular.

Experts in Chicago, US, made the diamond by extracting two grammes of carbon from 100 grammes of Sooty's ashes.

The carbon was then placed in a diamond press, exposed to temperatures of 3,000C (5.430F) and placed under a million lbs of pressure for two weeks.

Sue wanted the diamond to match Sooty's colour, so the company had to create a new technique. Once it had grown, the gem was placed under electrons for 24 hours, gradually changing the colour from clear to black.

The result is a stunning orb that has been cut, polished and set in a gold band surrounded by white diamonds to look like a flower.

Sue, who runs a bingo hall in Ifracombe, Devon, wears it next to another £2,000 ring — created from three other dead pets.

She said: “It was a light blue colour and I wear it on my finger all the time.

“The company uses ashes, but not all of them, so it is still possible to scatter some ashes in the traditional way.”

David Hampson, chief executive for LifeGem UK said: “This is the first black diamond in the world that has been created from ashes in this way.”

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