"IF A DOG has done this, that animal poses a serious threat to the public."
Those were the words of ward councillor Andrew De Freitas, who has spoken of his shock after three trees were either attacked by an animal or vandalised along Weelsby Road.
Nearby homeowners say they believe some people encourage their dogs to attack the trees to train them for fighting, prompting the incident to be labelled as "mindless".
It's not the first time trees have been severely damaged in such a way; previously the Grimsby Telegraph has reported on bark being stripped from trees in People's Park.
Today, Councillor De Freitas has called on the public's help in finding the culprit.
He said: "It is theorised that the damage done to these trees was caused by a dog.
"I believe it is clear that the damage has been caused by an animal.
"It is very similar to the damage that was caused to trees in People's Park recently.
"My understanding is people will encourage the dog to attack the trees in an attempt to train them for fighting. For this to happen, the dogs have to be worked up into a frenzy. If a dog has caused this damage, that animal poses a very serious threat to public safety.
"Looking at what has been done to the tree, if someone had walked by and disturbed the animal it does not bear thinking about what damage could be done to that person.
"We need the public's assistance to inform the council if they know of anybody encouraging dogs to do this, not only to protect the trees but to keep the public safe, too.
"This is no random attack; they have chosen to attack the three small trees only.
"Somebody knew what they were getting the dogs to do. These trees were paid for from ward funding and it is quite upsetting to see that someone has done this to them.
"Hopefully, someone saw the people doing this and they will help us find them and stop them before this dog seriously injures somebody."
A local resident, who asked not to be named, said: "The tree is full of teeth marks. I think it has obviously been caused by a dog.
"People encourage their dogs to attack trees to train them for fighting and I think that is what is happening here.
"Now the bark has been ripped off the tree they will die. The bark is what supports the tree and without it the trees will be lost.
"If a child had walked past while the dog was doing this it could have quite easily turned on the child and the results would have been horrifying."
The incident has been reported to North East Lincolnshire Council and Humberside Police, however, the incident is currently only being dealt with by the council.
Councillor Ray Oxby, portfolio holder for environment and housing, said: "This kind of mindless vandalism is completely unacceptable.
"There appears to be chopping marks on the bark and I doubt a dog could carry out such an attack.
"These trees were planted several years ago along Weelsby Road and were starting to establish themselves.
"They'll now be inspected to see if there's any chance they might recover, otherwise they'll need to be removed and replaced.
"If you know anything about what happened, contact Humberside Police on 101."
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter