THREE teenagers have been de-arrested following an "unprovoked attack" on ducks in Salisbury, police have confirmed.

Witnesses claim the suspects killed two ducks and injured other wild birds after firing missiles at the animals in The Maltings at 5.49pm on Friday (May 21).

Police rushed to the city centre to find three boys, aged between 13 and 17-years-old, holding catapults and rocks.

They were arrested on suspicion of possessing offensive weapons and animal cruelty offences, according to a Facebook post from Salisbury police.

However, the trio have now been de-arrested and the force has spoken to the children's parents, who have been invited to be interviewed at a later date, a spokesperson from Wiltshire police revealed.

A Wiltshire Police spokesperson previously said: "This was an intentional and unprovoked attack on these birds, causing distress not only to the animal, but also those families present in the area at the time.

"This behaviour will not be tolerated and those responsible will be dealt with robustly."

They added if anyone was in the area at this time and witnessed this incident, the public should report this to police via 101 quoting reference: 54210048602.