DOG owners have been warned to watch out for dangerous mole traps – and nobody will take responsibility for them.

Borehole drilling specialist Pete Mills, from Woodingdean, stumbled across a large metal claw on a dog walk with his Chihuahua Phoebe. It was half-buried behind the University of Sussex, along the border with Stanmer Park.

The 52-year-old was alarmed when he took the device home, researched it, and found out it was a spring-loaded mole trap.

He said: “These could potentially injure a digging dog or have a kid’s finger off if they grabbed one out of the ground.

“They’re usually set so the sprung part’s claws are buried in the mole’s tunnel, and the handles are left above ground. The trigger blocks the tunnel and when the mole pushes through it, the trap snaps shut.

“It doesn’t kill the mole straight away. Sometimes they can stay alive for 24 hours. I really don’t know why someone has seen the need to set traps up there.

“There are some mole hills, but it’s hardly a golf course and they can be flattened by the big mower when they cut the grass.”

Mr Mills said he had reported the traps to Police Community Support Officer Danny Heath, who has promised to look into the matter further after visiting the site to investigate.

The provenance of the traps is a mystery. Peter initially believed they were buried on land owned by the University of Sussex. But a spokesman for the University said: “I can confirm that this is not on university land and the trap was not set by us.”

The council, which manages neighbouring Stanmer Park, said it was not responsible either.

A spokesman said: “As soon as the mole trap was reported, we investigated as a matter of urgency.

“We couldn’t find any mole traps in the area so believe the trap to have been removed by the person who found and reported it.

“We can confirm we haven’t been setting up mole traps in this area.

“We’ve also been in liaison with the Sussex University’s head of ground maintenance on this and they have assured us that they have not been setting up mole traps either.”

Mr Mills said the situation was “a bit odd”. “Who put them there? Why?” he asked.

He said: “It’s a bit concerning. There should be warning signs for dog walkers along the western edge of the field where lots of saplings have been planted.

“Some of these traps are on top of the ground, not buried. It would only take a dog to be in the area for a pet’s leg to get caught. It could cause a serious injury.”