Hedgehog kicked like a ball
Yobs kicked a hedgehog around like a football and laughed off pleas by a sickened passer-by to stop.
The defenceless animal was left fighting for survival after being booted up and down a street for fun by a gang of teenagers in Wolverhampton.
A horrified resident rushed to help the hedgehog after witnessing the attack in Croft Lane, Fallings Park.
The man, who asked not be named for fear of reprisals, said today: "I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
When I went to stop them they just laughed and thought it was hilarious. I took it to the vets but was told it would be touch and go whether it would survive because they had kicked it so hard.
"Everyone here is totally disgusted they could do this to a defenceless animal."
Hannah Ross, a student veterinary nurse at Wolverhampton's St George's Veterinary Group, said the animal was very unwell. "It isn't eating but we hope it will be okay eventually," she added.