A golf club has come under fire for blasting crafty crows who keep stealing players' balls.

Staff at Highwoods golf club in Bexhill shoot the birds if they wander into their sights.

Now wildlife protection experts have started an investigation over whether the club could be breaking the law.

The club, which charges £1,600 a year for membership, has armed its greenkeepers with guns to shoot any crows they find on the 130-acre site in Ellerslie Lane.

Club secretary Austin Moran said: "We have had a problem with crows for the past 15 years.

"We think the crows mistake the balls for food or eggs but our members get very frustrated when they lose a valuable ball.

"We have our own policy as landowners to shoot the crows.

"This is standard vermin control that's been blown out of proportion.

"We are not unique in this activity and we are not the only establishment to have a problem with crows."

However, the killings may still be unlawful.

Stewart Scull, head of gamekeeping at the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, said: "You can only carry out control as a landowner with a licence issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It states that you can only control crows for three reasons - to conserve other wild birds, to protect crops and foodstuffs or to protect public health and safety.

"The pinching of golf balls does not come within the licence and it is not a reason for control.

"You can't kill a crow because you don't like crows.

"It doesn't make a difference how many crows have been killed. Even if it's just one or two, it's still outside the lawful licensing."

Highwoods member Shaun Stewart, 44, a train driver from Bexhill, said: "Crows have a track record of swooping down and stealing golf balls.

"You may lose one in every ten balls. In the last month I've lost about £15 but that doesn't warrant a cull.

"I would understand the club killing vermin that damage the course, like rabbits burrowing on the lawns, but the balls are private property.

"They belong to the players so that shouldn't come within the remit of the club.

"Most of the players find it funny when a crow nicks your ball and the chances are you may find it again.

"A few years ago about 150 golf balls were found piled up by the crows in a field close by.

"The most expensive ball you can lose costs £3. I've lost five or six of them but it doesn't justify having a bird shot."

Mr Stewart claims a greenkeeper told him they shoot the birds in the head.

Hester Phillips, from the RSPB in Brighton, said: "You can only shoot a crow in very strict circumstances.

"If they are acting outside of that it is illegal and they are open to prosecution.

"Our investigations team will look into any incidents of crows being shot on golf courses."

Lee Walker, of 1066 Pest Control in North Terrace, Bexhill, said: "The shooting of birds anywhere is rare these days.

"They need to consider the moral justification and whether a bird which steals a golf ball is really posing a threat to public safety."