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A swan was shot four times in the head while nesting in a park in a "cruel and horrible" attack, said the RSPCA.

Animal welfare officers received reports that a female mute swan was bleeding badly in Whiston's Stadt Moers Park in Knowsley on Tuesday.

As they were carrying the bird away, they could hear her mate calling for her which was "very upsetting", said Inspector Louise Showering.

A vet had to put the bird down after finding four pellets in its head.

Insp Showering said: "I can't imagine why someone would be so cruel to a wild animal."

"We knew she was badly hurt," she said, because we were able to get hold of her so "easily".

"[The male bird] will now have to protect the eggs, but it is possible he may be successful in raising the young alone," she added.

Appealing for information about the shooting, she said the idea that someone "has done this deliberately is absolutely terrible".

She added that the mating pair were well known locally and park users were "extremely upset" about what had happened.