A heron’s body has been found after it was allegedly shot in Beddington Park.

WARNING: Graphic images in the gallery above.

Initially, it was thought the bird was the victim of a dog attack but it was later concluded to have been shot in the neck.

People who found the bird also suspect the heron fell and broke its neck on impact.

Graphic images published online show the heron’s bloodied corpse with a hole for where it’s believed the bird was shot.

A Facebook post by Forget Me Not Wildlife Rescue, published on March 1, reads: “This is not just going on in Beddington Park but many of our local parks.

“By the injuries there was only one entrance wound but no exit wound, but their necks are very thin so I think it’s hit the bone and bounced back out.”

A dog walker spotted the dead heron by the stock pond under a tree, where crows are said to gather, in Beddington Park on the morning of March 1.

It’s believed a ball bearing or pellet was fired from either a catapult or gun, and comes following reports of birds having been shot in local parks over recent months.

Notices were put up around Beddington Park after several birds were allegedly shot dead or injured over several weeks.

READ: Several birds shot dead or injured around Beddington

Two little egrets were found dead along the Wandle Bank, while other dead birds included a grey heron, a coot and a green woodpecker.

Peter Alfrey, a member of the Beddington Farmlands nature reserve, said a Canada goose was recently taken into care from Beddington Park before a “large ball bearing was removed”.

A veterinary examination of one of the dead little egrets also confirmed the likely cause of death to be “blunt force trauma”, he added.

It's been said a recent Beddington Park clean-up has seen several ball bearings recovered in a particular spot.