THREE teenage boys fired catapults at swans on the canal in Stonehouse, and then turned on two off duty police officers who challenged them.

The two officers were cycling along the canal path on Sunday 7 April, at around 3pm,  when they saw the boys.

"When they called to them, one of the boys fired his catapult at one of the officers, the pellet hitting the officer's rucksack, before they all ran off," said a force spokesman.

The police are now keen to identify the boys.

Descriptions of the boys are:

1. White, 16 to 18-years-old, large build, wearing a red hoodie.

2. White, smaller than the first, wearing a grey striped hoodie.

3. Black, 16 to 18-years-old , hair shaved at the sides of his head.

PC Mel Campbell, rural and wildlife crime officer for the Stroud area, said: "This is just not acceptable behaviour and we will do all we can to find those responsible. The pellets they were firing could have seriously injured the swans and pose a threat to people and property."

Local officers will be carrying out extra patrols in the area and would like to hear from anyone with information to contact them on 101, quoting incident 328 of 7 April.