Hereford police searching for squirrel slasher

A cruel individual has left up to a dozen squirrels with bloodied stumps where their bushy tails should be.

West Mercia Police are now searching for the culprit of this act of animal cruelty, the Mirror reports.

The person behind the heinous crime is catching grey squirrels and slashing off their tails with a knife before releasing them.

According to the Hereford Times, hundreds of flyers have been handed out in the Hampton Dene area of Hereford reading: "Dear residents, over the last couple of months someone in the area has been cutting the tails off squirrels and releasing them.

"We believe approximately ten squirrels have suffered this appalling treatment to date.

"As well as being a cruel and malicious act, this is a crime."

Police are appealing for anyone with information about this to come forward.

PC John Westlake added: "I have never dealt with anything like this. I was horrified because I'm an animal lover and can't tolerate cruelty to any animal at all.

"If you talk to people who know about people's minds they will say harming animals is a worrying trait in a person and can lead to more serious things.

"I'm taking it seriously because I love animals. We can't have that going on. It's malicious cruelty."