UPDATE: Bloody baseball bat found on Southwater footpath

Officers arrived on the scene near the village business park at around 7am.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “A member of the public had found part of a baseball bat lying on the path with some blood on and immediately around it.”

There have been no reports of an assault in the area and the helicopter was launched at 9am as a precaution.

The spokesman continued: “The area has been searched with the assistance of the police helicopter and nothing else has been found. The search has now been called off and the incident is currently closed.”

Sgt Chris O’Leary, of Horsham police, said ‘there have been occasions in the past where someone has run over an animal and used something to finish the job’.