THE discovery of a dead cat left in a cat carrier next to a children’s play area has left residents outraged.

The cat, a tortoiseshell, was found wrapped inside a box which are usually used to transport pets to and from the vets, in a car park on Rettendon View, near the memorial park in Wickford.

The memorial park often plays host to remembrance services and gives children the opportunity to enjoy open spaces.

Residents were outraged on social media, and stated that a similar incident had occurred at the park a couple of years ago.

The man who found the cat on Sunday afternoon, Will Taylor told the Echo he was disturbed when him and his family stumbled across it.

The 29-year-old said: “The cat carrier was on the grass verge under a street light.

“We could see a blanket inside. It seemed really weird.

“We had our 5 year old with us so my partner took our daughter over to the park when we found it.

“I was really disturbed by the incident.

“I brought the carrier back to the car. We could see something inside, so we took the top off and unwrapped some of the blanket to find the poor thing inside.

“There was no doubt it was dead as it was stiff, but there didn’t seem to be any signs of damage.

“To abandon a sick or dead animal is bad enough, but to dump it like that, near a play school and play park, is just wrong.

“Maybe the owners didn’t know what to do, but there isn’t really an excuse.”

The dad-of-one continued: “The RSPCA confirmed it was suspicious, and that they would send someone out as a priority to pick it up.

“I hid it near the Rainbow’s building nearby.

“I got a call from them about an hour later confirming they had collected it and would take it for an examination and x-ray.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t microchipped.”

The RSPCA confirmed that the charity were in attendance on Sunday, but failed to respond with a statement before the Echo went to print.

The charity stated that anyone with information should contact them on 0300 1234 999.