The RSPCA investigated 53 cases of deliberate cruelty to dogs in Northumberland last year, figures have revealed.

In the North East, the charity's officers investigated 403 incidents of deliberate cruelty towards dogs in 2020.

In addition to Northumberland's figures the animal welfare charity investigated 181 in Tyne and Wear, and 169 in Durham.

Dogs are four times more likely to be the victims of intentional harm than other pets, it emerged.

Although there are an estimated 12 million dogs and 12 million cats being kept as pets in the UK, dogs are much more likely to be the victims of deliberate cruelty.

Between 2016 and 2020, 63,881 incidents of intentional harm involving dogs were reported to the RSPCA's cruelty line.

This is equivalent to 34 a day or more than one every hour across England and Wales.

There were 14,825 incidents of intentional harm involving cats between 2016 and 2020.

The RSPCA gets around 84,000 calls to its cruelty line every month and around 1,500 of those are about intentional cruelty.

But the charity sees a rise in the summer by around 400 calls, on average, per month. This equates to 47 calls every day or two every hour.