A dead foal has been dumped along a footpath.

Members of the public were horrified to spot the foal's body in Middlemead, West Hanningfield, earlier this morning.

Sadly, it is the third incident of foals being dumped in the area in recent months.

A spokesman from Chelmsford Council said: "It was reported to us at 8am and a member of our street clean scene cleared it at 11am."

The incident was also reported to the RSPCA.

A spokesman said: "It's really upsetting, but sadly it's not uncommon for us to hear about dumped, dead horses.

"In 2016, we actually received over 72,000 calls about horses to our cruelty and advice line, and took 1,336 horses into our care.

"We do think the problems we are seeing with dumped horses is down to overbreeding and the falling price of horses. it's very sad."

Anyone with information about who owns the horse can call the RSPCA in confidence: 0300 1234 999