A dead horse has been found on land near Sheppey's Kingsferry Bridge.

It is not clear how long the creature has been in Old Ferry Road, but Swale's seafront officer Ian Arnell was made aware of the find last night.

After taking a look for himself at noon today, he posted a picture on Facebook and said: "How anyone can do this to an animal is beyond me. Left at the bottom of the old bridge."

Angela Walder, former chairman of the Sheppey branch of the RSPCA, said the branch had not been made aware of the find.

However, due to the location, she said it looks like the horse had been dumped because "there is no grazing land around that area".

She said: "I have been doing this job for over 40 years and I am getting to the stage of thinking pet keeping should be banned all together.

"I don't know why people have to get animals if they don't want to look after them."

Ms Walder has urged members of the public to report cases like this to the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.

"These poor animals can't be helped or dealt with unless we are made aware as soon as they are found," she said.

It is not yet known for certain whether the horse had been dumped.