Wild animals have been taken away from an animal rescue hospital after a visit by police and RSPCA officials.

They swooped on a private house in Diamond Court, Sheerness, following a tip-off. The home doubles as the headquarters of Swampy's Wildlife Rescue.

It was claimed all animals, including a seal, two swans and pigeons, were confiscated following welfare concerns and allegations the animals were being kept in "terrible conditions".

But Swampy's owner Ray Allibone, 66, claimed he and his family had been victims of a hate campaign.

He said: "There seems to be a few keyboard warriors around. I have been accused of many things in my life but this is the first time I have been accused of cruelty."

He admitted he handed over a seal pup, which had cuts to its head, to a specialist centre.

He said: "I had to get help. It would have been nice to have continued but the quarantine enclosure I had was the only one I have.

"I did everything I could. I am glad to say the seal is now out of danger and the infection has been much reduced. It is now feeding on whole fish. I'm just pleased to have helped as much as I could."

He added: "The feeling was bad enough knowing I had to admit defeat. I was quite saddened to have to give in but the reality is I don't have the necessary equipment."

Days later, he received a visit from police following up allegations that his two sons, who both have cerebral palsy, were "living off the floor of a pigeon loft".

He said: "Someone out there is really sticking their claws in and now using my sons as weapons. These attacks started on Swampys and have now moved to my family. We are devastated."

He also hit out at the RSPCA for putting down one of the swans which he had reared since finding it abandoned as a chick at Barton's Point Country Park.

He said: "We had hand-reared Donny for the past eight months and had been preparing to set him free on a private lake next month. We had been waiting for the right weather.

"The RSPCA inspector said it should have been released so it could fend for itself. But they have had him put to sleep because he had a deformed foot. But he could still walk and fly. All my hard work has been undone. I'm furious. The 7,000 people who have followed him on my Facebook page will be devastated at this news."

He added that he had been planning to wind up his animal rescue service as he had contracted Parkinson's Disease which meant shaking hands made it difficult to hand-feed animals.

Mr Allibone said he had not released the birds earlier because of the avian flu lock-down and added: "It would have been wrong to have released them until the spring when there is more food out there. But it appears my policies don't coincide with those of the RSPCA."

An RSPCA spokeswoman said: “Our officers returned to a property on the Isle of Sheppey with Kent Police’s Rural Task Force having attended a week earlier following concerns about the rehabilitation of a number of wild animals being kept at the site.

“Although we had hoped to work with them to help the animals in their care, our advice had not been followed and a number of animals were removed from the site."

She added: "They were taken to one of our specialist wildlife centres for expert care. Enquiries are ongoing so we cannot comment any further at this time.”

The raid took place on Wednesday, January 19. Mr Allibone has been asked to attend an interview to decide if he will face charges.

Last night (Wednesday) he broke the news on his Facebook page. He wrote: "Unfortunately Swampy’s is closing down. This is mainly to do with my health issues but also because of an intervention from the RSPCA. "

Two metal swan platforms he is having built and a reed-planting project at Barton's Point will still go ahead.

Recently he posted a video of him releasing a buzzard, which had suffered concussion at Elmley, and pictures of a hedgehog recovering from ringworm.