Dog walkers at a popular park in Leeds are being warned to keep their pets on a lead after several dead foxes were spotted near piles of suspected poisonous pellets.

Mounds of small pills have been scattered throughout Bramley Fall Park, Bramley, over the past fortnight - and a number of dead foxes have also been reported.

The park, which runs alongside the Leeds Liverpool Canal, is one of the busiest in the city and hugely popular with dog walkers in west Leeds.

However, a number of signs have gone up around the park warning people to look out for the pellets and to keep a close eye on their pets.

Richard Coulthard, 32, lives nearby in Bramley and takes his bull lurcher, Bouncer, and collie-retriever cross, Jake, for a walk in the park everyday.

Richard is worried that his bull lurcher, Bouncer, and collie-retriever cross, Jake, will eat the pellets in Bramley Fall Park
Richard is worried that his bull lurcher, Bouncer, and collie-retriever cross, Jake, will eat the pellets in Bramley Fall Park

"For the past two months, we have pretty much exclusively been walking the dogs in the park because of the lockdown," he said.

"I saw a couple of dead foxes in the park and thought it was really strange that two had died within the space of a couple of days.

"Then we saw the posters go up."

The posters have been nailed to trees around the park to make dog owners aware of the situation.

Dog walkers are being warned about suspected poisonous pellets in Bramley Fall Park
Dog walkers are being warned about suspected poisonous pellets in Bramley Fall Park

They say: "If you see any poison pellets, please take a picture of it in the place you found it.

"Call 101 to report it. If you see any dead foxes in the woods, please take a picture and please email foxhelpers@outlook.com and remember the location so we can go investigate the area."

Richard told LeedsLive he has been left "really worried" and only just managed to stop Bouncer from eating the pellets on the first day he spotted them. The most recent sighting was near the changing rooms off Pollard Lane.

"At first, I thought they were dog treats, but then I put two and two together just in time," he said.

"My lurcher was sniffing around them. Lurchers will eat anything, so that's why I'm really worried.

"When we compared locations of the dead foxes with other dog walkers, it appears that there are more then just the two that we saw.

"No one knows who is doing it and why they are doing it. If they're going to kill a fox, then they're probably going to kill a dog too."