A dog has been found abandoned in a dog exercise area in a Kent town.

The Labrador-cross was seen shut into the area at Radnor Park, Folkestone, and its rope lead thrown into a hedge.

He could not be caught in the dark but by daybreak he was safely in kennels and is now waiting to be re-united with his owners – or found a new home.

The dog is between 18 months and two-years-old and is taller and slimmer than a purebred labrador. He has a narrow streak of white on his chest. He is very anxious and appears frightened of men.

Karyl Rimmer, one of Shepway Council’s environment community officers, said: "This may be because he has been treated roughly in the past, because he had never been given the chance to socialise properly or is a reaction to the trauma he has been through after being abandoned and ending up in kennels."

Cllr Alan North, cabinet member for the environment, said: "People seem to put more thought into buying a lump of metal on wheels than they do a living, feeling creature.

"If you are ever in a position where you cannot keep your dog - don’t just dump it, contact the Dogs Trust or other animal welfare charities."