THE owner of eight poultry birds that were kicked and stabbed to death today branded the culprits as "mindless yobs."

Andrew Poole, 50, of Orchard Close, Selby, said he was devastated when he found the birds had been slaughtered in a night-time attack on the Pymble allotments in Flaxley Road.

He went to his allotment after coming off a night shift at Drax Power Station to find the bodies of four hens, two cockerels, a goose and a gander covered in blood.

Mr Poole, an electrician, said: "They had broken the necks of the geese, and had stuck welding rods and bits of metal in them.

"All eight were bleeding from every part of their bodies. I found some of them in corners where they had obviously been cowering to try to escape from the kicks and flying objects.

"Whoever did this is sick. They are mindless yobs who didn't steal anything - their only objective was to destroy."

Mr Poole said he had had the four-year-old geese from babies, and they used to greet him by honking as he walked down the path.He said: "I knew there was something wrong when I didn't hear them."

The attackers appear to have ripped down wire netting, kicked down a fence and thrown breeze blocks through the allotment windows.

"They even tried to bomb the hens with stones. Luckily some of them, along with some ducks, managed to escape into another allotment," said Mr Poole.

It is the second time that Mr Poole's allotment has been attacked. Last year, 28 of his chickens were roasted alive when hooligans petrol-bombed the run.

He said: "There are four or five sheds set on fire every year, we've had nothing but trouble for as long as I can remember.

"We urgently need more fencing round the perimeter and security lighting."

Police described the latest attack as "horrific".

Anyone with information should contact PC Chris Mudd on 01757 702596.

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