Case one: Horse is slashed with a broken bottle

POLICE are hunting a sick attacker who slashed a horse with a broken bottle in a frenzied onslaught in daylight.

The black and white cob stallion had to be destroyed by a vet after the attack, which officers described as one of the most savage they had ever seen.

The incident, in Middlesbrough, comes just days after the North-East's appalling animal cruelty record was once again highlighted by the RSPCA. The animal charity revealed that the region has the UK's highest number of cruelty convictions for the eighth year running.

The five-year-old horse was found by its owner, a traveller, on the footpath where it was tethered near the Metz Bridge, off Riverside Park Road.

It had been stabbed twice: once with a piece of glass in the shoulder and again in the back leg, with the jagged neck of a broken wine bottle left embedded in its flesh.

PC Martin Cowen, of Middlesbrough Police, said the well-cared for animal was tethered, and would have been unable to escape from its attacker.

"It's an area frequented by drinkers, so we think that someone has got to be drunk or out of their minds to do something like this," he said.

Police believe the attack happened between 7.30am and 9am on Tuesday morning. Anyone with information should contact them on (01642) 303126.

Case two: Dog in holdall

A MAN walking his dog discovered the body of a dog in a holdall floating in a park lake this week.

An RSPCA inspector was called to Stewart Park, in Marton, Middlesbrough, on Tuesday night after the discovery of the body of a Staffordshire bull terrier cross bitch in the green holdall.

The dog was white with distinctive brown markings on its face.

Anyone with information should call the RSPCA on 08705 555999.

* The Northern Echo teamed up with the RSPCA to launch its award-winning Animal Campaign, highlighting the region's shameful record of cruelty to animals.

Read more about the Animal Watch campaign here.