One swan was left dead and another had to be rushed into care following at attack in Longparish.

Christopher Milsom had gone out for a walk along the River Test with his dog on the last weekend of April, just like he has done every day for the past ten years.

But when he arrived he was met by a sombre face.

"There was a woman who arrived just before me and told me that somebody had shot and killed the male swan," he told the Advertiser.

"Not only that, but they had shot the female one through the neck as she lay on her eggs."

The female swan had and her eggs already been taken away to Swan Support in Windsor to get care by the time Mr Milsom arrived, but he was left devastated by what happened.

"I've never seen one shot along there before," he added.

"We were all just really upset because it's so sad and such a cruel thing.

"You never know, I could’ve gone down the night before and they could’ve shot me."

Wendy Hermon from Swan Support said they have seen a sharp rise in swan attacks in recent weeks.

"We've picked up five swans in the past ten days," she said.

"That's not a regular occurrence.

"I'm not too sure if it's people getting bored because of the lockdown or what's happening really."

But Ms Hermon did have some positive news to give when contacted by the Gazette.

She said that the injured female swan is on antibiotics and recovering well and will hopefully be able to return to the wild in the next couple of weeks.

Wild unmarked mute swans belong to the Crown.

As such this means that taking or killing a swan could amount to theft and injuring them could amount to criminal damage (both these offences committed against swans have been successfully prosecuted in recent years).