Police moved swiftly to rescue a Staffordshire bull terrier pup after shocking footage emerged of its owner kicking it while walking along the street.

People expressed anger and concern for the pup after the video showing the young dog being pulled and then kicked twice by a woman was posted on the 'Lost missing pets' Lurgan Facebook page.

The upsetting footage, which was captured in the town's Union Street on Tuesday, lasts seconds but shows the young woman walking the pup, which she then drags in front of her and boots twice.

Within hours of the video being posted on Facebook hundreds of people had expressed their revulsion and more than 1,000 people had shared the footage.

Police later posted pictures of the rescued pup with the message: "You may recognise this little guy from a video that's done the rounds on social media this evening.

"Thanks to those who reported it, here he is pictured in the safe arms of 'A', who I'm told he's taken a bit of a shine to.

"Little Pupper is now safe with a recognised breeder. An investigation is now under way and his owner will be answering some questions about animal cruelty offences."

Such was the response to the post that it prompted a further message from police yesterday, who urged people to contact them direct if they wanted to report a crime rather than tag them through social media.

The PSNI said: "On virtually every piece of material we publish, and certainly on every social media page we have, it is clearly laid out - phone 101 to report something. We do not monitor social media 24/7 and due to the software we use we don't even see the majority of comments we're tagged in.

"It does not count as reporting something if you tag us in a post, or even private message us. We need these reports, and victims of crime, especially voiceless ones like Pupper here, rely on these reports, but they must be made via the proper channels."

Also in the post the police revealed their horror at seeing the footage. "As animal lovers, we all had the same response to that video. The air turned blue in our office when we watched it, and significant levels of anger have been voiced," the message added.

It continued by advising people that "justice is not best served by a widely shared video with angry comments, but by passing the footage direct to local police".

Belfast Telegraph