A dead dog, hanging by its collar from railings in Clissold park, was discovered by a horrified jogger on Wednesday morning.

Police are making enquiries and liaising with the Council and RSPCA after the dog, spotted by Sean McPherson, 46, was found on the railings opposite St Marys Church.

Mr McPherson, actor and St Kilda’s Road resident, told the Gazette:

“I initially saw it as I was running and thought it was maybe a fix at first, until it dawned on me it wasn’t.

“The dog was hanging by its collar on 5ft high railings. It was a sort of Mastiff. So it was fairly large and tan coloured. I saw it at about 6:30am and it looked suspiciously deliberate. I can’t see why the dog would attempt to jump that high over spiked railings, even if it were locked in the park.

“I was initially shocked and scared and took a couple of steps back before I realised it wasn’t moving. I felt extremely distressed afterwards.”

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Service said:

Police were called at approximately 0650hrs on Wednesday, 7 January to reports of a dead dog found hanging from railings in Clissold Park, N16.

Officers attended the scene and are liaising with Hackney Council and the RSPCA.

Enquiries continue to trace the owner of the dog and establish the circumstances of the incident.