A search party was formed following the death of a three-month-old puppy, who ate a “meaty” substance left on a country field.

Villagers at Biddenden scoured a field to search for the lethal “meat” in a bid to prevent other dogs from suffering but found nothing.

The incident happened at Millennium Field, Biddenden, on Monday of last week and the Jack Russell-westie cross died that evening.

The puppy was being walked by a mum with her two young children on Millennium Fields, Biddenden, when it came across the “meat” and devoured some of it.

The puppy died on Monday and a second dog belonging to the owner also ingested the substance and became seriously ill, suffering from vomiting.

A third dog in the party who stayed clear of the “meat” was unharmed.

Biddenden parish councillor Adrian Lidgett was one of the members of the search party that comprised PCSO Lee Sinden, Biddenden postmistress Rhona Ashton and parish councillor Eileen Cansdale.

Cllr Lidgett said: “I went out to Millennium Field to see if I could find anything myself on Tuesday, but it is 20 acres, so it’s quite difficult to cover all of it and I realised I wouldn’t be able to do it on my own.”

The search party went out on Thursday but did not manage to recover anything. Cllr Lidgett said the owner was too distressed to talk about the incident and added: “I hate to think that this incident was something malicious and it was most probably dropped by a fox or a bird.”

Cllr Lidgett, who is chairman of Biddenden Neighbourhood Watch, wrote on the group’s Facebook page.

“We are looking at the possibility that poisoned bait has found its way on to fields in Biddenden, if a dog, child, or wild animal picks it up and eats it, it could have serious consequences to health.”