Badger baiters have been at work in Brighouse, according to a worried wildlife expert.

A badger sett near a housing development in Bailiff Bridge has been dug up, badgers removed and the sett carefully back-filled by baiters, said Edward Ashman, of the Calderdale Badger Protection Group.

He is now calling on the public to report those responsible so they can be brought to justice.

The latest interference to the protected animals was discovered by an environmental consultant working on the housing development, who checks the sett regularly.

"We found a freshly-killed fox close to the sett," said Mr Ashman.

"Badger baiters sometimes take a dead fox with them so if they are caught they can say they were fox hunting. But this fox had no injuries consistent with having been caught by dogs. A couple of the sett entrances had been dug up but very carefully backfilled.

"We have had a problem with men digging foxes in that area, but we never thought they would start on the badgers. It could be that they took some of them."

The seldom-seen black and white stripy animals are protected under the Badger Act of 1992 and it is an offence to allow dogs to enter setts or to attack the badgers.

Anyone caught looking for setts on private land is also trespassing. A baiter could have dogs confiscated or face jail if caught and found guilty of damaging a sett or injuring badgers.

Mr Ashman said 'diggers' were known to live in Brighouse.

"These are very clever people," he said. "They are good at what they do and have good field-craft skills because they can often get on to private land without being seen. It is a worry that they couldn't care less about the suffering they are inflicting."

Baiters send a terrier down a sett wearing a special locating/tracking collar. When the dog stops moving underground, the baiters will "crown down" - dig straight down to the badgers. Dogs often suffer terrible injuries after badger attacks.

"Badger baiting gives the owner the kudos of having a hard dog which can fight or kill a badger," said Mr Ashman.

"The badgers are often shot, stabbed or have their legs broken prior to a dog being set on them."

The new housing development in Bailiff Bridge has been built with the badgers in mind.

It has an underpass to allow them to forage in their favourite spots as well as badger-friendly fencing to stop them entering the new development.

Landowners and members of the public can call the police on 0845 6060606 with information on badger baiting. The police also have numbers of local badger-protection groups in Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale.