A severed pig's head which was tied to the gates of an Islamic school in Portsmouth is being treated by police as a hate crime.

The head was found attached with cable ties to the gates of the Madani Academy in Nuffield Place, Portsmouth, at 8.30am on Thursday morning.

Police believe it was placed there on Wednesday evening between 5.40pm and 6pm.

The school, which on its website says it is "the first independent Islamic faith school in Portsmouth", opened in 2014 and currently teaches primary school children aged five to eight-years-old in Years 1-4.

Superintendent Will Schofield, of Hampshire Police, said: "We are taking this incident very seriously and will do all we can to catch those responsible.

"I would urge anyone with any information about this incident to come forward as soon as possible.While our investigation is in its early stages, at this moment we believe it is an isolated incident.

We will not tolerate such incidents in Portsmouth that seek to damage the good relations we have with all sections of our diverse community."