Seagulls across Sussex are being shot and killed in their dozens.

Bird protection groups have offered a £5,000 reward to catch the gunmen responsible for the deaths of up to 50 gulls in a string of attacks across the county in the last fortnight.

The birds are being cruelly shot down from rooftops but in some cases the maimed birds are not dying instantly but are plummeting from rooftops and then dying slow, painful deaths.

The National Seagull Rescue and Protection (NSRP) campaign has had to be called out to care for many of the injured birds.

In the last week the charity has been called in to care for two birds attacked in Hove and another one Brighton, one in Seaford, plus nine in Eastbourne.

Investigators believe the same people are repeatedly shooting at birds. Residents in the Hazlewood Avenue area of Eastbourne have reporting finding about 40 dead gulls in the last two weeks alone.

All 11 species of seagull found in Britain, including the most commonly seen herring gulls, are protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Shooting a seagull is a criminal offence which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail or a £20,000 fine.

Anyone with any information on the shootings should contact NSRP on 07765 114599 or Sussex Police on 0845 6070999.