A man who allegedly livestreamed himself raping dogs was left naked and beaten in the street after an animal vigilante group lured him into a trap.

The unnamed man also reportedly charged customers 50 RMB (£5) to beat the dogs before having sex with them, while broadcasting the abusive content live to thousands of viewers.

Dog lovers first noticed the horrific streams three weeks ago, and tracked the man to southwestern China's Sichuan province, where they reportedly found him running a dog brothel.

A number of vigilantes chatted with the man for several days before luring him into a trap when they arranged to meet for a chat "about his "hobby".

The man was met by dozens of activists who immediately set upon him.

The furious mob then surround him and begin kicking and punching him in front of shocked onlookers.

As the man was beaten, activists held up banners claiming he had sexually assaulted female dogs and was running a sick dog brothel.

Among the banners was one that read: “Pervert sexually assaulted female dogs, going against morality," according to Chinese newspaper People’s Daily.

Undercover activists had contacted the man after he started posting animal abuse videos and had offered members of a Chengdu chat group the chance to “rape female dogs in a way that serves us all”.

When the activists met the man, he took his clothes off for a demonstration but ended up in the street being beaten.

The beating was eventually stopped when local residents called police and the man was taken to hospital for treatment.

According to reports citing local authorities, the man cannot be charged for abusing the dogs, which were all strays.

There are, however, grounds for investigating him for the content he streamed online.

As for the angry mob, police said their actions would also be investigated, but no arrests have been made so far.

Meanwhile the dogs were taken to an animal shelter where they were put up for adoption.