A young entrepreneur is making a killing - by turning dead animals into PENCIL CASES.

Student Jack Devaney, 22, who began experimenting with mice and rats, has now branched out into using moles, squirrels and rabbits for his wacky homemade creations.

And his bizarre designs have gone down a storm with a growing customer base across the world.

The 3D design student at Plymouth University achieved notoriety after posting photos of a pencil case he made out of a dead rat on the image sharing site Imgur last week.

It has now been viewed almost 500,000 times and Jack, originally of Accrington, says the global recognition has been a real boost to his business.

Glasgow Times:

He said: "They're most popular in America, but I've also sold them in Norway.

"I think it's great that I've managed to sell some."

Jack decided to start "making daft stuff" after seeing a funny picture of some bad taxidermy online and wondered if he could better it.

He added: "I'd worked part-time as a butcher for nine years so I've been sort of desensitized to the process.

"It also meant that I knew how to pluck, skin and dress different animals."

With his already honed skills in butchery, Jack just needed to source the creatures themselves.

He said: "I used to have a snake when I was younger and I knew that you could buy frozen mice, rats and chicks from different pet stores.

"I get them from pest control and estate managers, I basically posted on facebook asking for help and I had people getting back to me within 10 minutes.

"My last order cost about £25 for four moles and three squirrels."

In spite of his worldwide success, Jack isn't confident in a future career based on his wacky work.

He added: "You'd have to be a nutter to think you could make a living out of this.

"Some people have suggested my work is satirical or that they have a deeper meaning but they are just daft."

But despite the interest in his work, Jack says that not everyone's a fan.

He said: "There's been a varied response. The average posts range from "This guy is a nut job" to "Where can I get one", but I'm always polite when I'm responding.

"If no one buys them then I'll just have a load of moles hanging around."