A GANG OF hooligan teenagers battered a cygnet to death when they deliberately rammed their motorboat into a terrified family of swans.

The two girls and a boy then spun their white inflatable boat around and pursued the panicked birds along the River Stour, attempting to smash into the group again - leaving the broken body of the cygnet in their wake.

Horrified witnesses to the crime - which took place on Sunday at 7.30pm on a stretch of the river near Iford Lane, in Bournemouth - called the police, but by the time their helicopter arrived the youths had vanished.

PC Dave Williams of Dorset's marine section said: "This was a despicable and callous act and I'd like to find those responsible. I am hoping that the public will be equally revolted and come forward with any information they may have."

Swans are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, which carries harsh penalties for those found guilty of injuring or killing the birds, including a maximum sentence of six months in jail.

Wildlife protection groups were quick to condemn the atrocity branding the youths "cowardly".

A spokesman for the RSPCA said: "We would urge anyone who witnessed the attack to come forward and help the police with their enquiries."

The two girls and one boy, aged between 14 and 16, were last seen heading in an easterly direction along the River Stour in the direction of Hengitsbury Head and Christchurch Harbour.

A witness described their boat as around 10ft long with a chrome or stainless steel A-frame.

Witnesses and anyone with any information should telephone Dorset Police on 01202 222500 or the free and anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.

First published: September 28