A PIGEON-fancier believes drunken thugs are responsible for a killing spree at his pigeon loft.

When Barry Watson arrived at his loft on allotments near Chester-le-Street outdoor market to feed his pigeons on Saturday morning he was horrified to find six of his prize birds dismembered.

It's thought youngsters, who left empty bottles of alcohol lying round his shed, broke into the loft and tore the birds apart with their bare hands.

Mr Watson, 60, who has recently retired, says it could cost up to £2,000 to replace those killed.

He said: "The way they killed them was just brutal. It looks like they picked them up and tore them apart. I found one still alive with a broken wing so I had to kill it myself. Another one had been brayed against the fence - it was really sick.

"It's not as if it's a rival sabotaging my birds - it was just wanton destruction."

Mr Watson, of Pelaw Square, South Pelaw, is a member of Birtley Homing Society and regularly races his pigeons there.

Before the attack he had 15 cocks, 30 hens and more than 20 youngsters.

With a big race planned for this weekend, he will now have to enter using different birds.

The attack on his loft has left him uneasy about leaving his birds there.

He added: "I now have a feeling of trepidation every night because I don't know what's going to happen to my pigeons."

A spokesman for Chester-le-Street police said they were investigating the senseless crime. He added: "It was a piece of wanton cruelty that cannot by excused. Why these particular birds were targeted and killed defies a logical explanation.

"There was evidence that there had been youths in the area drinking, but whether they were responsible is open to conjecture."

Anyone with information on the attack that occurred between 8.30pm and 10.30pm should contact Chester-le-Street police on (0191) 388 4311.