Residents living in a village close to the Oxfordshire border are upset that ducks have been shot on their village pond.

Villagers in East Ilsley, Berkshire, do not know who is responsible for the death of the ducks.

But the parish council in the Berkshire village has confirmed it is not responsible.

According to The Times council chairman Roger Hick posted a statement saying the duck deaths were not authorised by the council.

He said: "We have made the legal services team at West Berkshire Council aware and have also spoken with Thames Valley Police."

It is understood that the ducks had been behaving aggressively and the issue had been discussed at a parish council meeting.

One resident told the Daily Mail: "We think the three big ducks were dumped here because they were a pain on someone else's pond - they caused havoc.

"So someone shot them with a .22 rifle and took their bodies away.

"The police came round knocking on doors afterwards because a firearm had been discharged."

Intentionally injuring or killing a wild bird is illegal and can lead to a maximum £5,000 fine and six-month jail sentence.