THE remains of six skinned animal carcasses found dumped by a roadside in the Scottish Borders have been confirmed to be from roe deer.

Initially it was thought they were badgers, but tests were carried out on the carcasses yesterday by animal experts at the Scottish Agricultural College in Edinburgh.

The carcasses were found on the banking of a road leading to a farm near Peebles on Friday and sent away for analysis.

Poachers are suspected to be responsible for the deaths and Police Scotland's Wildlife Crime Unit has launched an investigation to establish the circumstances behind the discovery.

Chief Inspector Andrew Clark, Local Area Commander for the Scottish Borders, said:"Police Scotland is committed to the full and thorough enquiry into instances of this nature.

"Being a rural policing area, we are aware of the significance of such finds and will continue to robustly investigate wildlife crime in the Scottish Borders"