Sicker than South Park

A cuddly bear shredded in the rotor blades of a helicopter, an anteater sawn in half and set on fire and a rabbit which electrocutes itself by sticking a fork into a plug socket.

No, not the creatures from a sick horror film, but the cute and colourful characters from a cult US adult cartoon which could be coming soon to a TV near you.

Happy Tree Friends has been described as 'making South Park look like the Tweenies', with characters including Flippy, a bear who has psychotic Vietnam flashbacks, Shifty the kleptomanic raccoon and Flaky, a dandruff-laden porcupine. All suffer regular gory dismemberments similar to the Itchy and Scratchy cartoons in The Simpsons.

'It's sick, twisted and extremely funny,' said Natascia Phillips, product manager for Revolver which will release a DVD collection of the series next week.

'They have fun and play together then they die in a variety of horrible ways.'

Maker MTV is negotiating to bring the show to satellite viewers and terrestrial stations are expected to follow.

However, there has already been a backlash in Britain. Schools in Hertfordshire banned pupils from viewing the show's website after parents complained.