A WEE COUNTY man has been left "gutted" after finding his pedigree pigeons stomped to death by an unknown intruder.

David Shanks was left hand-feeding a young pigeon after its parents were stolen or killed during the break-in.

The Alloa man is desperate to see his show birds return to their nest following the incident just over a week ago.

He claims some of the birds were cruelly stamped on and squashed to death, after someone broke into his garden shed.

While police are investigating the break-in and theft, the force could not confirm claims that a number of doos being bred at a Mull Court outbuilding died as a result.

Visiting the scene, the Advertiser did, however, see shocking evidence of the killings in the form of two corpses.

David, who picked up pigeon-keeping skills as a young man, was breeding more than a dozen pigeons in a shed, including a number of pairs.

However, he was left devastated when he discovered what had happened during the weekend of April 27-28.

Speaking about the killing of the birds, David said: "Who would do that? They've not got a heart.

"Maybe they thought they were street pigeons or whatever; they do somersaults, they are pedigree pigeons."

He is now left with just two adults and a younger bird, which is still not mature enough to feed itself.

For the time being, he is focusing his efforts on making sure it gains weight in the next couple of weeks.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman told the Advertiser: "Police in Forth Valley are investigating following a report that a number of pigeons were stolen from an outbuilding in Alloa.

"The incident happened between 7.30pm on Saturday, April 27, and 11am on Sunday, April 28, from an address in the Mull Court area.

"Inquiries are ongoing and anyone with information should contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 1609 of April 28.

"Alternatively, a report can be passed to the charity Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111."