Severed deer head left on Tesco shop till Published duration 11 June 2013

image caption Tesco has apologised for any distress caused to the store's customers

The severed head of a deer was left on a self-service supermarket checkout, prompting a police investigation.

The innards of the animal were found in one of the aisles of the Tesco shop in Saffron Walden, Essex, police said.

Officers were called to the shop in Radwinter Road at about 01:20 BST on 4 June.

A spokesman for Essex Police said nobody had been arrested. A spokeswoman for Tesco apologised for "any distress caused".

Tesco said it was unable to state whether the head was left by one person or a group, how many people were in the store at the time or the circumstances in which it was left.

Nor was it able to confirm whether it had CCTV footage of the incident.