South Somercotes swans killed and eggs stolen

Lincolnshire Police is appealing for witnesses to the incident to get in touch

Two swans have been killed and their eggs stolen in what police in Lincolnshire have described as a "shocking" crime.

Wildlife officer Det Con Aaron Flint said the discovery was made by a member of the public at South Somercotes, near Louth, on Tuesday.

He said the swans were found in their nest covered in blood, with seven eggs reported as missing.

Lincolnshire Police is appealing for witnesses to get in touch.

"It's just shocking," Det Con Flint said.

"These two swans - who may have been together for many years - had built their nest and the eggs should have been hatching very soon.

"But, unfortunately, this is not going to happen now because some callous individual appears to have killed them."

Det Con Aaron Flint said he could not understand "why anyone would commit such a crime"

Det Con Flint said that while the cause of death was yet to be confirmed, it was his view the swans, which were found with "blood all over them", had been deliberately killed.

"We've recovered the birds, and we are going to have a post-mortem [carried out] to establish how they died," he said.

All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and it is an offence to kill them, interfere with a nest, or remove chicks or eggs.

Det Con Flint said he could not understand "why anyone would commit such a crime", adding that due to the rural location of the nest the force was relying on members of the public to help find the culprit.