Sickening moment gang repeatedly kick hedgehog down the road like a 'football' (original) (raw)

A gang of three youths were captured brutally kicking the defenceless animal like a football in as the shocking game was captured on CCTV in the middle of the street

The shocking footage was uploaded to social media

Horrific CCTV footage has been shared showing a Hartlepool gang using a hedgehog as a football.

The video, which the Mirror has chosen not to show, has been shared across social media and appears to show the yobs kicking the defenceless animal around on Erskine Road in Hartlepool. The footage was captured at 9.52pm on Monday, July 22, and involves three males. It shows two of the youths repeatedly kicking the hedgehog along the road as they passed a number of houses and cars.

The damning footage has been met with fury on social media as people slammed the youths. Teesside Live reports one resident said: "What a lovely bunch of young people we have, playing football with an innocent hedgehog." The video has been viewed 367 times and it is understood the incident has been reported to the RSPCA. According to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it illegal to kill or capture hedgehogs unless they are suffering or need to be rehabilitated then released back into the wild.

According to one resident, the local police force are now believed to be investigating the footage. They said in a local Facebook group: "Can the person who posted the video of the hedgehog being used as a football please message me as I can't locate the post anymore. The Police are opening an investigation but need the video uploading to a form they've emailed me, I did put the link on my original report but it needs uploading properly on this form."

In 2019, it was reported that four teens kicked a hedgehog to death in a similar incident in Norton, Teesside. A passer-by allegedly tried to intervene but it was too late as the hedgehog died as a result of the brutal assault.