THREE goats have mysteriously shown up in the grounds of a Hillingdon church.

The animals took refuge in the church yard at All Saints Church, in Long Lane, this morning, and no one knows how they got there.

The police were called, and they called the RSPCA.

The goats were spotted by Jane Dearnaley of Victoria Lane, who was on her way back from the doctors surgery this morning (Monday).

"I saw what I thought was three dogs in the distance, but when I looked closer I could see they were goats.

"They have been eating the bushes in the vicarage gardens.

"I am worried that they are going to walk on to the road and get run over."

Father Desmond Banister, Parish priest at the church, said: "I was getting ready for a service when someone came and told me about them.

"They don't have any ear tags on them, and we are wondering whether they have been dumped. It is such a shame, and a despicable thing to do.

"We called Pets Corner (animal sanctuary located in nearby Petworth Gardens) but they did not come from there.

"They looked clean and well looked after."