Animal inspectors are calling for witnesses and information about a forest shooting that claimed the life of a rare bird of prey.

The RSPCA wants to know who was responsible for the death of a young female goshawk on the edge of Dalby Forest.

Although the bird of prey was alive when found and was rushed to Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Norton, its injuries were too bad for animal specialists to save it.

Goshawks are so rare that shooting them is prohibited under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Centre manager Jean Thorpe said: "It is sometimes possible to fix a broken wing with pins, but in this case, the wing had become badly infected and the bone had been completely shattered by the shot."

The young goshawk was given antibiotics but had to be put down.

RSPCA inspector Geoff Edmund, who is leading the investigation said: "It is vital that we do everything we can to help increase the size of the population of these scarce birds of prey. For someone to wilfully harm such a beautiful and rare creature is an absolute tragedy.

"This was a juvenile goshawk who was fully grown but not yet in adult plumage. Like other birds of prey she had a long straight tail and a hooked beak she was very obviously a bird of prey and could not have been mistaken for something else."

The RSPCA was called in after the bird, which has a wingspan of more than a metre, was found on the edge of Dalby Forest between Pickering and the east Yorkshire coast and taken to the wildlife centre.

Anyone with information should contact the RSPCA on 08705 555 999. All calls will be treated in confidence.