A MAN has been caught on camera kicking a swan in a public park.

Police said those who viewed the footage were “horrified”.

An officer issued a caution after the footage was discovered on social media of the man kicking a swan in Shinewater Park in Eastbourne.

He was arrested and interviewed in July as part of a police investigation into an S1 Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 offence of intentionally injuring a wild bird.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and/or a fine, but the man was only given a caution as he expressed full remorse and had not been dealt with previously for a wildlife offence.

“When deciding on an appropriate outcome for a crime, several factors - aggravating and mitigating - are taken into consideration, in addition to the evidence of the offence,” a police spokesman said.

“People who viewed the video clip were understandably horrified by the behaviour.

“Additionally, the swan had thankfully not suffered a serious injury and was able to escape.”

Later that month, police received reports of two dogs attacking a swan in Chichester.

A member of the public captured video footage of the offence.

The owners of the dogs have since been interviewed by the Rural Crime Team and admitted being responsible for the animals at the time of the incident.

They have both received official police conditional cautions, part of which is to donate a reasonable amount of money to a bird charity for the area where this matter took place.

Meanwhile, the West Rural Crime Team received a report of sheep being attacked on a farm near Burgess Hill, after a dog escaped from a residential premises.

The owner of the dog was identified and has been issued with an official police conditional caution to pay compensation to the famer for this matter.

The owner had also already taken steps to book the dog into livestock training classes.