BORIS the badger went on the rampage and attacked five people after he was stolen from a wildlife centre.

It took two police officers and wildlife experts to capture the hand-reared year-old badger - but he was put down after the spate of attacks in the Greenhill area of Evesham.

Boris bit at least five people, causing serious injuries to one man, in the space of three days.

The man, of Greenhill, was due to undergo a skin graft at Birmingham's Selly Oak hospital today.

Boris was stolen from the Vale Wildlife Centre, at Twyford, Evesham, on Wednesday, May 7.

"He was too tame for release," said Caroline Gould, of the Vale Wildlife Hospital in Beckford.

Lunge

"You can't blame the badger. It had no fear of humans. He was in a strange environment and probably hungry."

Centre staff were unaware he had been stolen after the break-in as Boris spent much of his time underground.

"We heard about these attacks and recognised the behaviour as that of a hand-reared animal," said Ms Gould. "We dug up the sett and he'd gone."

The Greenhill man suffered serious bites after he was attacked on Friday, May 9. Boris then attacked a woman walking her dog and was put down on Saturday.

"Two officers had to jump on the bonnet of their car," said Mike Weaver, of the Worcestershire Badger Society. "I was talking to them on Friday night when we saw the badger. We managed to entice it towards me when it made a lunge at me."