THE North-East has been identified as a blackspot for bird crime in a report.

Shocking statistics have prompted the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to call for an end to the illegal and needless killing of birds of prey.

The RSPB's Birdcrime 2004 report records 481 confirmed or alleged incidents against wild birds, including many against birds of prey, reported to the RSPB from across the UK last year.

In the North-East, one of the red kites reintroduced into Gateshead's Derwent Valley was found dead, near Haltwhistle, last October.

Expert analysis revealed that a lethal dose of the banned pesticide carbofuran killed the kite, which had fed on a rabbit carcass deliberately laced with the poison.

This year, a peregrine falcon was found dead at Geltsdale, in the North Pennines, in March, and post-mortem examination confirmed that the bird had also died as a result of poisoning by carbofuran.

In a further incident, a buzzard, one of two found in the North Pennines, also died from carbofuran poisoning.

The birds were found next to a dead rabbit, which was laced with the poison and had apparently been used as bait.

Andy Bunten, RSPB North England regional director, said: "The illegal use of deadly poisons in the north of England creates a serious risk to people and to wildlife.

"I urge anyone who has any information about who is responsible for these dangerous and needless crimes to make a stance against wildlife crime by passing on any information they have to the police."