CHRISTMAS had an unhappy ending for poor pup Tarkus, who was tied to a tree with a pair of football boot laces and left shivering in the pouring rain.

The soggy 16-week-old boxer cross was abandoned behind houses on Staffa Crescent, Blackburn. The puppy was taken to the RSPCA's animal shelter at Altham, none the worse for his ordeal.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.