ANIMAL welfare officers vowed yesterday to hunt down a dog owner who left the animal to suffocate in a rubbish skip.

Travellers and residents are being urged to help identify the person after the dog died in horrific circumstances.

RSPCA inspector Gary Palmer was reduced to tears as he rescued the half-dead, six-year-old collie.

It had been abandoned in a heavy-duty refuse sack, tied with twine and weighted down with concrete posts, which had been thrown on top of the pitiful bundle.

"I have dealt with a lot of the worst cruelty cases in this area, but this absolutely broke my heart. For somebody to have done this when there are so many people who could have helped is so utterly heartless," said Mr Palmer.

A rail passenger was being dropped off at Yarm station when the person who had provided the lift heard whimpering coming from a skip and on closer inspection saw movement in a refuse sack.

Mr Palmer said: "The dog was bleeding heavily from the nose. It had been trapped under some concrete pillars, which had been thrown on it.

"Due to the extent of its injuries, the poor thing had to be put to sleep.

"This was not a road hit - a dead body thrown into a skip. It had been quite deliberately put in there, in a bag to suffocate, and covered over with concrete posts. Cold and callous," said Mr Palmer.

The collie was black with white markings, a dog, and about six years old. The person who left it to die could face a jail term of up to six months and a £5,000 fine.

Mr Palmer's colleague, Inspector Laura Plover, said: "Our hope is someone will recognise the dog's description and realise it is missing - and phone us."

The case has been highlighted as part of The Northern Echo's Animal Watch Campaign, which aims to do something about the region's appalling reputation for animal cruelty.

The telephone number to ring is 08705 555999.