A MAN has been arrested in connection with the deaths of animals after their decomposing bodies were discovered in filthy, abandoned stables.

The RSPCA last night confirmed the development after questioning a suspect about the conditions in which at least 35 animals died. They said a man from the Middlesbrough area was arrested.

Inspectors will now put together their evidence, including photographs of the scene at Bank Top Stables, in Trimdon, County Durham, with a view to taking a criminal prosecution to court.

Case officer Inspector Mark Gent said: "A suspect, who we traced through our own means, has been questioned and arrested by the RSPCA.

"A file of evidence is now being processed and will be sent to our headquarters to make a decision about prosecution."

Meanwhile, news of the death toll - which includes 16 horses, seven dogs, 11 birds and a rabbit - and the conditions that were discovered on Bank Holiday Sunday, has sent shock waves through the community.

One horse-owner, who asked not to be named, said: "It is disgusting. Everyone is talking about it but just cannot believe what has happened there.

"It is difficult to believe anyone in their right mind would inflict suffering on an animal on purpose.

"Not one person I've spoken to even knew horses were being kept there.

"There was never any sign of life."

He said that people were speculating about how so many animals came to perish, but they could come up with no reasonable excuse.

Some fear that unsuspecting horse-owners took their animals to the stable and paid someone, believing they would be cared for by an experienced handler.

Yesterday, The Northern Echo discovered an advertisement posted in a shop window for Bank Top Equine Services, based at the site, offering to break horses and ponies to drive or ride.

East Durham businessman Maurice Crake, who built the stables and sold them in 1991, last night told of his disgust at the unfolding horror.

Mr Crake, who now runs a taxi business in Wheatley Hill, also said he would like to buy back the stables - if he could find the owner.

He said: "What has happened there is just sickening. It is beyond belief.

"People who can do that sort of thing don't deserve to have animals, because nobody in their right mind would put creatures through that.

"I sold the stables in 1991, but I don't know who owns them now. If I could find out, I would try to buy them back."

Three dogs that were rescued from the site are said to be physically fit and well and are being cared for at the RSPCA's kennels.

It is thought they survived by feeding off other animals' remains or by ripping open bags of horse feed lying in the yard.

The dogs, a male rottweiler and two border collie bitches, will continue to receive treatment from staff at Great Ayton Animal Centre, in North Yorkshire.

A member of staff at the centre said: "Physically, they are very well.

"They have been checked by a vet and there are no real worries."