Police hunt man who 'dumped his lame dog'

No sooner had police charged Mary Bale, the "cat bin woman", with animal cruelty, than a fresh appeal was launched for the identity of a man caught on CCTV appearing to dump a lame dog in Dorset.

Police have released footage, taken from the car park of Granby industrial estate in Weymouth, in which a man, accompanied by a limping canine, emerges from his car, strides purposefully away, before making an abrupt turn, returning to his vehicle and driving away, his dog unable to keep up.

Steve Sudworth, an employee at the British Marine Technology centre adjacent to the car park, witnessed the incident on Thursday afternoon.

"I happened to see the man and dog walk towards the woods," he said. "After a few seconds I saw the man walking very fast back to the car and he jumped in. I thought he was going to shout for the dog but the car started reversing and pulled out of the car park fast. The dog tried to follow the car but couldn't because of the limp."

Police are analysing the CCTV footage to try to identify the registration number of the car – a metallic blue Mazda or Kia Rio. The dog, now nicknamed Ginger, has been taken to a kennel and is waiting to be rehomed.