A shocking video of a squirrel being set on fire was sent out by children in Kent.

It showed the animal being hit by a large stone, dragged along the ground by its tail and then hung round a tree and set alight, to screams of laughter.

The RSPCA says the video was posted on Snapchat and officials have visited an unnamed school to speak with pupils and parents.

Officials have not confirmed which area it happened in and say it was not clear if the animal was alive or dead at the time.

It is unclear if any action has been taken against those involved, but news of the video comes as the RSPCA called for better animal welfare education in schools after the number of animal cruelty reports coming from children on Snapchat more than doubled.

Its emergency cruelty line has already received 119 complaints this year, including two in Kent.

The charity says some of the incidents reported across the UK include:

• A guinea pig thrown down the stairs;
• A tortoise fed drugs;
• A wild rabbit hit with a log and stabbed with a pen;
• A sheep beaten to death with a golf club;
• A goldfish’s eye cut out;
• A puppy thrown into a river;
• A squirrel set on fire;
• A fox cub’s throat slit;
• A cat choked and suffocated;
• Two chickens beaten to death

The RSPCA’s special operations unit says it fears the social media platform makes the people creating the videos and images feel "invincible and untraceable" because the post disappears after 10 seconds.

“What’s even more concerning than the 340% increase in reports of videos of animal cruelty on Snapchat in just two years, is the level of cruelty being seen,” said an intelligence officer, who cannot be named.

“While many of these videos shows acts of animal cruelty that are at the lower end of severity - such as teenagers chasing geese or throwing stones at birds - a worrying number of them show serious acts of brutality.

“When you consider that Snapchat is particularly popular with children and young teenagers, it’s particularly troubling that they could easily be witnessing animals being beaten, tortured and even killed in graphic detail.

“Not only are young people seeing these heinous acts but, most of the time, it is also young people who are witnessed in the videos carrying out these sickening incidents or are often the ones who share them.”

A Snap spokesman said: ""This sort of cruelty is illegal and should never be broadcast on Snapchat.

"We encourage anyone who sees something like this anywhere to always report it."

The charity said it provided tools to users to report violations of guidelines. The app has a dedicated team that reviews abuse reports and takes action.