DOZENS of birds have been shot in a York street in the last year, with police no closer to finding the culprit.

Residents have been distressed as the corpses of pigeons, magpies and seagulls have been left on their doorsteps and roofs.

David Woodall, who lives in Orchard Gardens, near Brockfield Park Drive, off Huntington Road, said they had called police to their home more than 12 times since last year, with the most recent incident happening on Friday.

Mr Woodall said: “The police have been round and down our street, because we’ve had a lot of pigeons and doves shot off our roof.

“They’re still trying to find out who has an air rifle in the area, but haven’t yet.

“It’s been going on since last year, but it’s getting worse. We have had between 12 and 14 off our roof, six since Christmas, and about 40 down the street.”

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said some of the birds were killed, but a number of others were left wounded by the weapon, suspected to be an air rifle.

The spokesman also said the shots appeared to have been fired from the rear of the properties in Orchard Gardens, but so far no offenders had been identified.

PCSO Fiona Nevens, of the York Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “Someone, somewhere knows who is responsible for these acts of cruelty.

“It is also deeply concerning that airguns are being fired in the vicinity of residential properties. This dangerous behaviour simply cannot be tolerated.”

Mr Woodall said: “It’s distressing and unpleasant.

“There’s blood all over, and they drop right outside our door, or they’re left on the road and we have to knock them down.”

Anyone with information which could assist police with their investigation should phone North Yorkshire Police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 quoting reference number 12120029079.