FOUR fox cubs were brutally killed in a back garden with a blunt instrument.

The RSPCA was called to Vaughan Williams Road, in Basildon, after the bodies of the baby animals were found with blood coming out of their mouths and ears.

An inspector took the bodies to a vet and xrays revealed the animals, thought to be four weeks old, had been hit with a blunt instrument.

One of the cubs was also caught in netting and there was a sausage and a piece of chicken nearby.

Inspector Adam Jones said: “This was a really horrible and sinister discovery and I have no doubt this was a deliberate, and callous, attack.

“These tiny little cubs were just a few weeks old, they still had their blackish grey fur, and they had been on the receiving end of some kind of brutal attack.

“There’s a lot of mystery surrounding the whole incident. We don’t know for sure why there was a sausage and chicken there, perhaps it was a lure, or why one of the cubs was caught in netting.

“We urge anyone with any information about this incident to let us know in confidence.”

The RSPCA was called to the house on Friday, April 11.

Call 0300 123 8018 with any information.