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The severed heads of three swans were found in front of a pub near Milton Keynes

Police are searching for the person who cut the heads off three swans and left them lying opposite a pub.

The severed heads of the three birds were found by anglers close to Mount Farm Lake near Milton Keynes, Bucks. Steven Cooper, the club's fisheries officer and secretary, discovered the first head lying on the lakeside.

He said anglers had noticed swans had been "disappearing" from the waterway in recent months.

He said: "I've been a member of the club for 10 years, but have never known anything like this. I was out one afternoon and the head was just lying there by the waterside opposite The Inn On The Lake pub.

"Anyone could have come across it - a runner, someone walking their dogs, a small child. It was horrible. We have found three heads, and one of them had the body close by it. It doesn't look like it was done by an animal, it was a sharp blade that took the heads off.

"Some sick person is out there with a vendetta against these swans and they've got to be stopped."

Killing a swan can result in a six-month jail sentence and/or a fine of up to £5,000.

He added: "We keep an eye on what is going on at the lake. Our bailiffs monitor the lake daily and have been told about the issue. As a club we take responsibility for all wildlife here - the swans, the geese, the foxes and the owl.

"In the past we have been in the lake saving cygnets which have got caught, or other injured birds. The animals were here before we were, and it's up to us to share the area. Whoever killed these swans is just sick."