4,713 pets are harmed as inspectors say that people are increasingly finding “disturbingly inventive ways” to harm animals.

According to a new report, the county has been named among the top ten places for the number of complaints received by animal charity the RSPCA.

The organisation has condemned the increase in cases of which 4,713 were recorded in 2014, up from 4,586 in 2013.

Inspectors say that people are increasingly finding “disturbingly inventive ways” to harm animals.

It follows news reported in the Advertiser earlier this month that an Andover couple had been banned from keeping dogs for five years after admitting neglecting their pet terrier.

David Wells and Rachael Robb’s dog Rusty was approximately half his ideal weight when he was rescued, at just 5.9kg, was covered in fleas and had maggots between his toes.

He collapsed shortly after he was found last August, in a back garden in Cricketers Way, and his owners were recently sentenced to 120 hours of community service.

Other incidents reported in Hampshire included a man swallowing a live frog and lizard as part of an online game, a Southampton man dangling a cat from its tail while being filmed on a mobile phone and a missing cat found tied to a fence by its neck.

Hampshire was ranked the ninth worst county in the UK based on the number of complaints made.

RSPCA superintendent for the south west, John Grant, said: “Most of the complaints we receive involve animals being neglected or not receiving the right care and often we can put that right by offering welfare advice.

“However, it is shocking that in 2014 people are still being deliberately cruel in what can be disturbingly inventive ways.”

Beating, improper killing, mutilation and poisoning made up 12.5 per cent of the total 28,800 complaints in 2014 to the RSPCA across south west and central England.

The animals most likely to fall victim to alleged deliberate cruelty were dogs with 21,084 complaints followed by 5,194 complaints for cats, and 3,653 for rabbits and small animals.