Reward offered over Staffordshire birds of prey poisonings

Three peregrine falcons and a common buzzard were poisoned earlier this year

A reward is being offered after four birds of prey were found dead.

The RSPB, which is offering the £1,000 reward, said tests showed all four were illegally poisoned by the same pesticide, with two of the deaths involving pigeon bait.

The three peregrine falcons and a common buzzard were killed in Staffordshire earlier this year.

The reward is being offered now after the tests revealed the birds had been poisoned.

The common buzzard and peregrine falcon were discovered dead in a wooded area of Longnor on 16 May.

A second peregrine falcon was found dead at Beeston Tor near Wetton on 19 May while a third peregrine falcon was found dead in a quarry near Waterhouses on 4 June.

• Latest news from the West Midlands

Police are investigating as all birds are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

To kill or injure one is a criminal offence and could result in an unlimited fine and/or up to six months in jail, a spokesman said.

A poisoned peregrine was found at Beeston Tor

Det Insp Tim Boulton, of the Staffordshire Police Rural and Wildlife Crime Unit, said the incidents were "truly dreadful" and said placing harmful substances in the countryside could put people and pets at risk too.