DUMPED animal carcasses, believed to be scattered by a person hunting game, were found on the edge of Basildon Golf Course.

Environmental Health officers cleared the site on Wednesday morning, but reportedly a 30-square metre area was covered in animal carcasses and feathers.

Shaun Watts, 62, neighbourhood watch co-ordinator for the Vange area, was contacted by a dog walker who spotted the remains.

He believes that the animals had been hunted for game, and had been butchered before they were dumped on the eastern corner of the course, in the woodland which backs on to Hillcrest View in Vange.

Mr Watts has spotted smaller collections of remains in the past, but slammed this as totally unacceptable.

He said: “There has been quite a large number dumped in the last few days.

“I think it must have been going on for quite a while, we have seen the odd animal remains in the past, but this is a huge amount.

“It did look like game animals, there was definitely a large deer, what looked like goats and badgers, a pheasant and lots of birds, there were feathers everywhere.

“I am no expert, but I would say someone has been hunting game, looking at the carcasses I think they had already been butchered and then dumped.”

He described the site as “something out of a nightmare”, with pile of remains having to be carried away in a wheelbarrow.

Mr Watts added: “It was a huge mess, really disgusting. The environmental health officers had to use wheelbarrows to get rid of the mess.

“It is a health hazard and totally unacceptable. But action needs to be taken, I would say they have a chance of prosecution here, and the culprit must know they can’t do this.”

A Basildon Council spokesman said: “Basildon Council received a report from a member of the public about animal carcasses found dumped on land at Basildon Golf Course. Our street cleansing team attended the scene yesterday to remove the carcasses. Investigations are ongoing.”