A neglected dog who lost a third of his body weight was discovered in a cat owner's garden helping himself to the pet's dinner.

The adult British bulldog was spotted by a man in Springfield Road, Larkfield, on Sunday.

Despite being a burly breed, the dog, who has been named Spencer, was very thin. He was also smelly and suffering from a skin condition.

The worried animal lover called the RSPCA and officers took him to a vets for treatment before moving him to the charity's animal centre in Castle Way, West Malling, where staff came up with his name.

Becca Williams, manager at RSPCA Leybourne, said: "This gentle boy has really been through it, he has sore eyes and his skin condition is severe, which must be causing him a lot of discomfort. He’s also very thin, but very friendly, so while I’m sure he must belong to somebody, he clearly hasn’t been looked after properly for some time.

"We’re giving Spencer lots of TLC and he’s a very friendly boy. He isn’t microchipped so we don’t know who is responsible for him."

Since February it has been a legal requirement to have any dog over the age of eight weeks microchipped in England and Wales.

Today the RSPCA launched its Love Animals, Hate Cruelty campaign to remind people to be kind to their pets, particularly in the run up to Christmas.

From animals left without shelter or adequate food and water, to those with painful untreated injuries or illness, from October 2015 to January 2016, 45,176 calls were made to the RSPCA about animals suffering due to neglect - one call every four minutes.

Anyone with information about Spencer can call the RSPCA inspector’s appeal line on 0300 123 8018.

Click here for more on the campaign.