Tiger in New York flat

Neighbours had been concerned about the roars coming from an apartment in their block.

But it wasn't until the owner went into hospital with bite wounds that they discovered the amazing truth.

Antoine Yates, 37, claimed he had been savaged by a pit bull terrier, but doctors knew the bite marks were too big.

Police were alerted and officers sent to the block in New York were met by the most startling sight: a huge tiger peering from the fifth-floor window.

The 29-stone male Bengal-Siberian was being kept as a pet at the tiny flat, along with a 4ft-long alligator.

The discovery at the Harlem flat at the weekend set in motion a commando-style police operation. They drilled a hole in the front door and used a remote camera to watch the giant cat lumbering around.

Then an officer abseiled down the side of the council- owned building to shoot it through a window with a tranquiliser dart.

The tiger, called Ming, and the alligator were then taken to a city animal shelter.

Neighbours, however, were not too surprised to learn about the mini-zoo.

They had told officials of roars and reptile sounds, and the odour coming from the flat.

Yates, after being charged with reckless endangerment, told a TV crew: 'I take this from my heart, I feel for animals so much.'

It was not immediately clear how he had acquired the tiger, or how long it had lived in his flat. NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly said: 'This is an "Only in New York" story.'