An investigation is underway after a dog was found bludgeoned to death after being tied to a post and beaten.

The white male Springer Spaniel was found by a dog walker on Wednesday (Feburary 2) walking through a crop field near at Jack & Jill Hill near Kilmersdon School, just over the Somerset border.

They then called Search and Scan, a charity which helps owners find missing pets in Somerset and Wiltshire.

Katie Fox, 54, of Haydon, a volunteer who works with Search and Scan, said they were "heartbroken" by what they saw after being called out to the scene about 80 yards from the road.

In a Facebook post, the charity described the dog’s death as an "evil act" which was "calculated and filled with anger."

She said: “When a dog walker calls us out to a dead dog you immediately think it’s got caught up, the last thing we expect to find is that a human would do this.

“A spaniel who has been taken out in the field expectant of a walk and instead been tied to a post and bludgeoned in the head while it thrashes around suffocating.

“We don’t know which ended his life. We do know he was alive when he was tied there and brutally murdered.”

Mrs Fox said that when they arrived at the distressing scene they thought the dog had got caught in slip lead tied to a post which had strangled it after winding tight.

“But then it became obvious that someone had put the slip lead back round the handle on the lead and then put it round the dog’s neck. Our team had to cut the rope it was wound so tight. This dog did not deserve this.

She said that volunteers could not lift the dog and turn it over until they had cut the lead and then discovered to their absolute horror that it had been beaten to death.

She said the injuries found on the dog's skull were so severe it was obvious it had been "bludgeoned in the head".

“Half of the dog’s skull was caved in. It looked like a bag of broken china.

“Whoever did this needs to be found. This gorgeous boy needs justice. They are dangerous and need stopping.

“Please do the right thing and report information if you have it.”

The dog is believed to be very similar to an adult male springer spaniel that had been reported missing about a week before by a local family.

The volunteers took the dog’s body to Shepton Vets where it is being kept while the RSPCA and police investigate.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact sassomerset@gmail.com or the RSPCA quoting reference number 801960.