‘It’s upset us all’: New Forest residents unnerved by man leaving animal carcasses by churches

St Theresa’s church in Totton, where a dead animal was dumped. Photograph: Peter Flude/The Guardian

The people of the New Forest are accustomed to curious goings-on. The woods and heaths of the national park in southern England are the setting for all manner of tales of witches, pixies, cursed souls and rituals, and, even today, are a magnet for those fascinated by the otherworldly.

But residents are aghast at the case of a local man who hit the headlines after admitting dumping the carcasses of animals, including black lambs, near churches in and around the forest, apparently targeting Christian worshippers.