The RSPCA has made an appeal for witnesses after a badger was hit by a motorist and then repeatedly kicked, as it lay injured in the road in Somerset.

The people responsible then got back into their car and turned the vehicle around before deliberately running over the animal for a second time.

The incident occurred at about 0135 BST on Friday near the war memorial at Dunster Steep, Porlock.

An RSPCA spokesman called the incident a "brutal and cowardly attack."

It is believed the attackers, two males and two females, were in a red car at the time.

A nearby resident witnessed the incident, but the RSPCA is hoping to find more people who saw what happened to help them identify the culprits.

RSPCA inspector Pete Barton said: "This is a horrendous example of a brutal and cowardly attack on a wild animal.

"The badger would have been caused a great deal of suffering both physically and mentally and the people concerned must have been aware of the pain they were inflicting on this defenceless creature."

For more information, please click the following link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/3726851.stm

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