Our four-legged friends face a cruel summer according to new RSPCA figures

It's a cruel summer for animals in Lancashire, according to new figures released by the RSPCA.

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The new numbers collated by the animal welfare charity show that Lancashire has the fifth highest animal beating figures in England and Wales.

There were a shocking 536 reports of animal beatings in Lancashire during the summer months from 2020 to 2024, the RSPCA says.

The charity is highlighting these stark figures as part of its Summer Cruelty Campaign, revealing that, in Lancashire, there has been a 40 per cent rise in reports of beatings during the summer months from 2020 to 2024 (82 vs 115) and 536 reports in total.

Across England and Wales, there has been a 105 per cent rise in reports of beatings in summer over the last four years (1,613 for July/August 2020 to 3,304 in July/August 2024) with four beatings reported every hour or one every 15 minutes the call line is open.

Year on year the number of beating reports has risen by 10 per cent and bosses at the charity say they are braced for this to continue to climb this summer.