A buzzard which was nursed back to health by staff at the Dover veterinary surgery after it was shot has been released back to the wild.

The bird, believed to be a young adult, was discovered on Ministry of Defence land at Hawkinge by a dog walker who picked it up and took it to the Burnham House surgery in Castle Street, Dover.

It had a broken wing and four pieces of lead in its body.

It was believed to have been the victim of someone using a shotgun.

The vet put its wing in a splint and the staff spent several weeks feeding it and nursing it back to full strength again.

On Wednesday, they took it back to the area where it was found, and released it in the hope that it might rejoin its family, or at least settle in familiar territory.

Mr Stattersfield said he was horrified that someone had shot the buzzard in the first place.

“They have only been back in Kent for about 10 to 15 years,”he said.

“Buzzards mainly eat rabbits and do very little harm.”