Dolphins have made a rare venture into a Devon harbour to find a missing member of their pod - which locals say was found dead with "two bullet holes" in its head.

More than 20 dolphins were seen less than a day after one was found washed up dead in the same spot.

Experts say it is "certainly possible" the dead dolphin was part of the same pod and they had been hunting for their lost friend.

And while the dolphins' search was described as "deeply moving," locals expressed their shock at the grisly end to its life.

Andy Kyle, 63, found the dead animal washed up in the harbour at Kingswear, near Dartmouth, on Saturday.

He said he had never seen one washed up there before so was shocked when, the very next day, a pod of "at least" 20 of the mammals were seen at the same spot

But Jonathan Hawkins, 53, a retailer and parish councillor for Dartmouth, Devon, said several local people had expressed concerns over the incident.

He added: "We had a number of reports to say a dolphin had been washed up on the slipway.

"We reported it to the Dartmouth Harbour Authority and it was taken away. We were told that it had been shot, that's what we heard from a few sources.

"One woman said she saw two bullet holes in the dolphin's head. We have to trust what residents tell us.

"If it's puncture wounds in the head of a dolphin I can't think what else it could be other than bullet wounds.

"If any one did that sort of thing to a dolphin they should be ashamed. We are lucky to have dolphins in Dartmouth and they should be appreciated."

Andy said that, in almost 20 years of living in the seaside village, he has never once seen more than one dolphin in the harbour at any one time.

He said: "It's too much of a coincidence that the pod would come in just 12 hours after the death of the other dolphin.

"It's blindingly obvious that the two things are probably connected.

"Dolphins are meant to be very clever creatures. They may well have come to the harbour together on Saturday and lost one of their pod," he added.

Andy, whose house overlooks the harbour at Kingswear, said it all began on Saturday at around 2pm, when he saw "some activity" on the slipway leading down into the water.

He said: "The local harbour patrol came and took away the dead dolphin on a boat.

"It was very unusual - in 20 years of living here, I have never seen or heard of a dolphin being washed up.

"Then at about 9am on Sunday morning, I had a call from a friend saying there was a whole pod of dolphins in the harbour.

"It's unheard of to see a pod of dolphins in the river here," Andy added.

"Up until about four years ago, we would have one dolphin come and visit the harbour each summer - but I have never once seen more than one dolphin at any one time."

Andy stopped to photograph the dolphin's "playful" behaviour for around 45 minutes, before the pod ventured back out to sea.

He said: "They were spread over quite a large distance of the river - but groups of them kept swimming past the exact slipway where the dead dolphin was found the day before.

"To me, the dolphin that died looked like a baby. The idea that they were coming back to look for it is very sweet. It was very moving."

A spokesman for the charity Orca, that focuses on the protection of whales and dolphins, said that Mr Kyle's theory about the reason for the dolphin's presence was credible.

They said: "It is certainly possible. Dolphins are very social animals and have complicated social structures within their pods so it is certainly possible that the individuals seen near the site of the stranding was connected to the individual found stranded."

A post mortem has not yet been carried out on the dead dolphin to determine cause of death.

Rob Everett, assistant harbour master at Dartmouth, said: "We're just waiting for the Institute of Zoology to come and collect the dolphin. They will investigate. I've heard the rumours (about it being shot), but we're waiting to see what the post mortem shows."