A family’s beloved pet dog suffered an agonising death after allegedly being poisoned while walking around an exclusive golf club.

Poppy, a six-year-old golden retriever, foamed at the mouth and had convulsions before dying 20 minutes after eating pellets near the 15th hole at Coombe Hill Golf Club, used by comedian Jimmy Tarbuck.

The dog’s owner Mark Davis, 59, of nearby Coombe End, said he believed people unconnected to the club had illegally left the poison to kill foxes.

Colin Chapman, the club’s chief executive who walks his two spaniels on the grounds every day, and informally allows other dog walkers on to the grounds, said he was “horrified” by the incident on Friday, January 27.

He said: “We think it’s absolutely appalling. If you have to kill animals, you should do it humanely, without distress to the animal itself.”

He said the club hired a marksman twice a year to cull foxes, but did not use poison pellets.

Television presenter Liza Tarbuck, who is Jimmy’s daughter, had phoned the head groundskeeper two weeks earlier to raise her fears about dog safety, but a search did not find any poison.

The Davis family bought Poppy, their first dog, as a puppy and regularly walked her on the course.

Mr Davis, whose wife Sally was walking Poppy at the time, said: “She was just a delightful dog, and losing her is horrific.

“When something is in the middle of their life and enjoying it and gives love to everyone, and is just taken away from you, it’s brutal. We are all shattered. It’s really like losing a member of the family.”

An RSPCA spokesman said it was illegal to poison foxes, and it was not aware of similar incidents in the area.

The golf club has written to neighbours and members warning of the potential danger to their pets.

It also called the police, who examined a tray believed to have contained the pellets on Monday.

Kingston police confirmed wildlife crime officer PC Hayley Parkes was to contact the Davis family and investigate the matter.