AN RSPCA officer has described the stabbing to death of a dog in a Blackburn alleyway as a "callous and cowardly" act.

Andy Kench was the officer who tried to save the ten year-old cross-breed as it lay dying next to Holmebrook Close, in the Fishmoor estate, Blackburn around midnight on Sunday, December 22.

It is thought the dog had been stabbed by burglars who raided a nearby house while its owners were out.

A sharp knife was discovered at the scene the morning after the crime.

The perpetrators could face up to six months in jail or a £5000 fine for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

An appeal for information has been made by Insp Kench who wants to bring the people who committed the cruel act before the law courts.

The ten year-old cross-breed was discovered by a member of the public, it was still alive and had a one inch-long single cut to its abdomen.

It was rushed to Abbeydale vets in Preston New Road where emergency treatment was carried out but the dog died in the early hours of Monday morning.

Insp Kench said: "It was a totally callous and cowardly act.

"It was a little dog and was not going to cause any damage.

"To stab it and then to leave it in the street dying made it even worse."

Anyone with any information should call the RSPCA confidential cruelty line on 0870 5555 999.