Villagers say they are feeding five starving horses which have been left to fend for themselves.

The animals appear to have been abandoned on a former water works site off Matts Hill Road, Hartlip, near the Farthing Corner services on the M2 between Rainham and Sittingbourne.

A resident said: "They have no water and no food. There is no grass left there, either. They have been there for the whole of lockdown now.

"Villagers are taking water and hay when they can. They look very poorly now."

An RSPCA spokesman said: “We are aware of these horses and would like to reassure the public we have been to check on them a number of times. But the horses are owned and have not been abandoned.

"We want our supporters and others to understand that sometimes, although we may not like the conditions an animal is kept in, they may not be illegal and therefore we may only be able to advise for conditions to be improved.

"We cannot remove animals alone. We can only take them into our care if a vet certifies they are suffering and we also require police to be present.

"We do a great deal of work behind the scene to improve welfare as it is not always appropriate for us to publicise this information for legal and data protection reasons."

She added: "We are so grateful to people who report suspected animal suffering to us and we would like to reassure them we will always look into and, if necessary, investigate any complaints made to us about animal welfare.”

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