EAST Lancashire is an animal cruelty blackspot according to an Accrington-based RSPCA inspector.

The announcement comes on the day RSPCA statistics for 1995 place Lancashire the worst of the North West's five regions for cruelty convictions.

And the number of animals rescued by Lancashire inspectors almost doubled - 186 in 1995 compared with 94 the previous year.

Inspector Stephen Greenhalgh, who covers East Lancashire, said: "In the 23 years I have been in the job I have never known it so busy. We are the busiest area in the region - there is no doubt about that."

East Lancashire's list of cruelty cases last year included:

A teenager who set his dog on three rabbits and then kicked them across an Accrington park.

A terrier-type dog that had to be destroyed after being kept for up to four weeks in a foul smelling Accrington shed.

A cross-breed dog in Blackburn that weighed only 10.6kgs and was so under-nourished his bones were showing through his skin.

Pedigree sheep left to slowly die from foot rot, sheep scab and liver disease near Longridge.

Bernard Divine, RSPCA regional manager, said: "It is both shocking and depressing that so much cruelty is completely avoidable.

"In terms of suffering caused, neglect is as bad as outright brutality - ignorance is no excuse."

Lancashire recorded almost half of the North West's 297 convictions for animal cruelty in 1995.

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