The RSPCA is asking for help to trace a dog owner accused of kicking and punching his pet and leaving it 'screaming in pain'.

The man was said to have been seen repeatedly kicking and trying to strangle the whippet in full view of travellers on a platform at Millom Railway Station.

The attack took place around 8.40am on Wednesday, February 9, and the man was captured on the station’s CCTV footage.

The dog was said to have been left screaming in pain as the man kicked him three times and punched him in his stomach and other parts of his body.

He was also seen placing his hands around the dog's neck in what was described as a sustained assault, said the RSPCA.

Challenged by members of the public, and again by the worker in the ticket office, he was said to have been verbally abusive before jumping onto a train bound for Barrow with the dog.

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Officers from British Transport Police were waiting when the train arrived in Barrow at 9.50am but it appears the man had got off at one of several stations before it.

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals inspector Martyn Fletcher said: “This nasty attack on a dog brought the whole of Millom Rail Station to a standstill. The dog was running around screaming in pain.

“The man was caught in the act by people who challenged him and someone tried to take a photograph of him.

"He was then challenged by one of the ticket office staff, but went back onto the platform and got on the Barrow train where he’d bought his ticket to.

“We need to talk to him and check on the welfare of the dog so we are appealing for any information about where he went or other sightings of him.

“He will have been seen by lots of people. He has also been seen at Millom Station since the incident and it seems he may travel there regularly.”

The man is said to have a local accent and he was carrying a distinctive rucksack which has two silver flashes down the side.

He was wearing a green hoodie top and a dark green/black waterproof jacket. Anyone who witnessed the incident or saw a man meeting the description leaving the train at Green Road, Foxfield, Kirkby-in-Furness or Askam rail stations on the morning of February 9 is asked to contact the RSPCA’s appeals line on 0300 123 8018 or British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40.