Police say they will deal with the person who shot a protected bird of prey near Cirencester "robustly" for their "unacceptable crime".

A Red Kite was shot close to the village of Salperton with what police believe to be a shotgun on March 12.

The bird was still alive, but unable to fly and was taken to the Vale Wildlife Hospital. The severity of its injuries meant the bird had to be euthanised.

PC Ash Weller from the Rural Crime Team said: "This is an unacceptable crime and one which will be dealt with robustly if the offender is identified.

"An X-ray of the bird revealed multiple bone fractures caused by the lead shot, therefore suggesting a shotgun was used.

"We are exploring all avenues as this could have been someone travelling through the area rather than someone local to the area.

"We are working closely with shooting and animal protection organisations, who are equally appalled by this act and are assisting us with our enquiries."

There are only 4,600 breeding pairs of Red Kites in the UK.

Jenny Shelton, investigations liaison officer at the RSPB said: "Red kites are a joy to encounter on a country walk, or even soaring over our homes, identified by their long, red wings and distinctive forked tail.

"We can’t take these birds for granted: only 40 years ago they were a rare sight having been driven almost to extinction in the UK the 19th century.

"To know that they are still being illegally killed is a blow to anyone who enjoys and values the natural world. All birds of prey are protected by law and if anyone has any information that might help with this police investigation, I urge you to come forward.”

The bird became extinct in England in 1871 and in Scotland in 1879 after relentless hunting – the entire remaining Welsh population was derived from a single female bird.

They were reintroduced in England by a programme run by the RSPB, Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage which has seen their numbers rise by 1026 per cent between 1995 and 2014.

Investigating officers are appealing for any information regarding the death of the Red Kite.

Information can be submitted online via this form, quoting incident 333 of March 14.

Alternatively, you can call 101 and quote the same incident number.