A probe has been launched after a dead chick was found cable-tied to a metal railing. The animal was discovered by a member of the public in Road of Remembrance in the centre of Folkestone.

Warning: graphic image below

It was fastened to the railing that runs alongside the route, which was renamed after the First World War, close to a knitted poppy.

RSPCA inspector David Grant, who was called to collect the chick's body, says he was shocked by the incident.

"It’s upsetting on so many levels," he said.

"To have an animal strung up in such an undignified way and then to do it at such a poignant location next to a poppy, is shocking and disrespectful.

"I was actually a bit speechless when I saw this, I just don’t understand why anyone would do this."

The RSPCA says it is unable to establish if the chick was dead or alive at the time it was tied up, and that there were no obvious injuries to its body.

The charity is urging anyone with information about the incident to call its appeal line on 03001 238018.

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