SADLY, there is no shortage of sickening crimes in East Lancashire.

Criminals seem to discover acts of violence and general nastiness all the time in order to get their hands on other people’s property or grab cash to feed drug habits.

But the actions of a gang of five youths at Knuzden Poultry Farm plumb new depths in outrageous behaviour.

They smashed 100 day-old chicks to death with bricks and rocks with no discernible motive other than the sheer sadistic pleasure of inflicting cruelty.

Such wanton killing is especially alarming since it suggests that these are individuals have no consc-ience or feelings for life.

Logically that means that unless they are caught, their next targets could easily be four-legged animals followed perhaps by children.

That worrying scenario is the reason why this is more than a run-of-the-mill act of vandalism.

And it emphasises, too, why anyone who knows who these yobs are should contact the police as soon as possible.

They need to be caught and given the severe punishment they deserve, to show that taking life of any kind will not be tolerated.