A mindless thug is captured on CCTV battering a terrified dog before taunting it by pretending to hurl the animal into a CANAL.
Police are hunting the yob who was unknowingly caught on camera launching an attack on the pooch on a canal towpath.
The 1.19-minute footage shows the man, dressed in a blue hoodie and jeans, grab the white bull terrier-type dog by the scruff of the neck.
He is then seen whipping the mutt across the face and body with the lead as the animal cowers on the path.
The yob then punches the dog a further three times before putting the lead back on and calmly walking away.
Shockingly, the man stops a few metres down the path and, holding the dog by the collar, dangles him over the canal.
At one stage he even appears to push the dog’s head towards the water before yanking it back at the last minute.
West Midlands Police and the RSPCA are now hunting the cruel thug following the attack which took place on the Wednesbury Oak Loop canal in Bilston, West Mids.
Software manager Steve Childs, 41, captured the footage from his security camera on his home which overlooks the canal last Wednesday (28/6) at around 9.30am.
He said: “The poor dog was doing nothing wrong at all, he was simply walking down the towpath and then gets beaten for no apparent reason.
“If he acts like that in open, what he does behind closed doors really worries me.
“That is my biggest concern. This dog needs to be rehomed.
“I was working in my office at home when I became aware of something happening on the towpath.
“I heard a high-pitched bark outside, turned on the live CCTV and saw the tail end of what happened.
“When I rewound it, I could not believe what I was seeing. The dog did nothing to provoke this.
“I got the camera to prevent burglars, so to pick up something like this was a surprise.
“I just hope they catch the man.”
RSPCA spokesman Rachel Butler said: “We’ve been made aware of the footage and we are working with the police in investigating it.”
