A POLICE investigation has been launched after the senseless slaughter of swans and cygnets in Aveley.
Essex Police were called at just after 3.20pm on Thursday May 28th to the Kenningtons Park in Aveley.
Two swans and two cygnets had been shot by an air rifle.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Grays Police Station on 101.
A spokesperson for the South Essex Wildlife Trust said: "Volunteers spent the afternoon trying to rescue the parents and siblings of these cygnets that had been brutally killed .
"We managed to rescue two cygnets but the cob and the pen, although both injured with bloody wounds and an air gun pellet lodged in the head of one parents, managed to escape capture by hiding in inaccessible reed beds.
"They still have two cygnets with them which we believe are uninjured .
"These birds were attacked at Kenningtons Park Aveley where there is a history of waterfowl being shot.
"This incident has been reported to the police and the RSPCA".
