A JACK Russell dog which was barely one year old died after being kicked in a vicious, unprovoked attack in the town centre.

The dog belonged to a woman who was selling copies of The Big Issue in the underpass between the Palace Theatre and Ipsley Street when the incident happened.

Police said two men walked towards the woman at about 7.45pm on Monday, May 1 and the dog began barking at them.

The men made threats towards the owner who then turned away from them to sell a copy of the magazine.

When the woman turned back towards the dog it was dead and police said she believed the men had kicked it.

Insp Gareth Prosser, of Redditch police, said: "This was a nasty, vicious and unprovoked attack on a very small animal."

One man was described as white, aged about 40, 6ft tall, with a heavy build.

He was balding but with dark brown hair and he had a tattoo of some sort on his right forearm.

He was wearing blue jeans and a red T-shirt with a white Nike logo on the front.

The second man was described as white, aged 35 to 38, about 5ft 10ins tall of medium build with wavy black hair gelled back.

He was wearing a black jacket and black trousers with a gold coloured stripe down the outside leg.

Anyone with information can call Redditch police on 584888 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.