John and Linda Holmes who live close to the Erewash canal in Ilkeston discovered that the three birds, which they had owned for over a year, had been injured in the overnight attack, leaving one of them dead.

Mr Holmes said: "We got up on Saturday morning and found one of them had been shot dead. The vet said there were pellets in its chest. One of the other ducks had been shot in the neck and the third one had been shot in the beak."

He said that he fears the offenders will return, "We live in a sick society, said Mr Holmes. 'I think they will come again."

One of the ducks is now being kept in the conservatory of the house and the other was treated at the vets until Monday. Mr Holmes added: "We were trying to find a safe haven for them. We want to keep them but don't want to risk their lives."

Police said they received reports of three ducks bleeding and wounded after being shot with a pellet gun. It is believed the incident took place between 7pm on Friday October 3 and 3am the following morning.

The police spokesperson added that they were not aware of any other shooting incidents in the area that night.

An RSPCA spokesperson said that air rifle attacks on animals and birds are depressingly common with 118 reported attacks to the RSPCA in the East region alone last year with many more which go unreported.

She said: "We absolutely condemn any deliberate targeting of animals and birds with weapons as such attacks cause a huge amount of pain, fear and distress.

"Anyone using an air weapon must make sure they are doing so within the law and by shooting at and injuring or killing animals they may be found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering and could face a maximum six-month prison sentence and/or a £20,000 fine."

Under 18s must not be in possession of air weapons unsupervised, weapons must only be used on private land and shooting at animals is also illegal.

Anyone with information should call Derbyshire police on 0845 123 3333