Crabs found in glass recycle bin returned to sea

The pub dubbed the person responsible a "midnight marine marauder"

Live crabs found dumped in a pub's glass recycling bin have been returned to their natural habitat.

The "bucket full" of shore crabs was discovered by bar staff of the Turks Head in Tynemouth on Monday.

They survived their ordeal and have been released into the sea at King Edward's Bay.

Writing on Facebook, the bar said "crabs belong in the sea, not in bins in Middle Street".

"Not to be sticklers about recycling, but we feel we need to remind whoever is the midnight marine marauder of Tynemouth that dumped a bucket full of live crabs in our glass bins overnight, that crustaceans are traditionally non-recyclable," the post added.

The glass recycling bins are in a back lane to the rear of the pub

Guidance from The Wildlife Trust states: “When rockpooling, be careful to leave everything as you found it.

"Replace any rocks you turn over, put back any crabs or fish and ensure not to scrape anything off its rocky home."

Tynemouth councillor, Lewis Bartoli, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, "I think the serious side is obviously that marine life shouldn’t be removed from the sea and dumped inland.

"At least the tale has a happy ending as the crabs made their way back."