A FAMILY has warned others to be on the look out for a group of men who were spotted firing a catapult at wildlife in Longparish.

A group of around five men, believed to be aged in their teens or early 20s, was seen firing a catapult at animals from a bridge in the village last week, according to a witness who did not want to be named.

The witness and her family saw the incident on Wednesday, August 23 at around 7.30pm.

She said: “My husband started to go toward the young men who began to move away. Shortly after a badly injured duck came floating down the stream towards us.

“We tried in vain to save the female duck but unfortunately could not.

“It was incredibly sad especially for my young daughter to have witnessed.”

She added they reported the incident to the police and the local neighbourhood watch.

The witness now wants to warn other members of the public and has asked people to be on the lookout for the young men who treated the area with “gross disrespect”.

She added: “We were particularly worried as we have a small child and if these young men felt it was acceptable to fire at animals, would they think anything of firing at us?

“At this point we gathered our things and left the area, which is a shame as its a beautiful rural spot.”

Police have confirmed they received a report of a group of people believed to be in their late teens to early 20s using a catapult in Longparish at the time the family witnessed the incident.

However, police added they had no report the duck had died or had been seen to be hit by the catapult.

Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to call police on 101 quoting 44170327123.