Bird trapped in fishing line stuck on lamp-post

The herring gull became stuck on Monday

A herring gull stuck hanging upside down from a lamp-post was a victim of discarded fishing line.

The bird had become tangled in a line which then hooked on to a light at Fish Quay in North Shields.

The stricken gull was rescued by a volunteer from animal charity Paws for Thought and a worker from a nearby firm who had a cherry picker.

Lorraine Thornton, from the charity, said: "Fishing line at the moment is the bane of my life."

She said there had been seven similar instances reported to her organisation, which covers north-east England, this week alone.

Ms Thornton said people dumped lines when they snapped, adding: "Then when birds are looking to find things to eat, it wraps around their feet and it gets tangled."

A few weeks ago, Paws for Thought rescued a bird stuck underwater in the South Shields marina with one of its feet tangled in fishing wire.

"He couldn't swim off, he couldn't fly," said Ms Thornton. "We had to send someone in the water to untangle him."

The bird injured its eye while thrashing about on the lamp-post

Other birds are eating fishing lines with the hook still attached, she said. "It goes down the throat and kills them because it ruptures the windpipe."

Baby gulls are more likely to be found inland while they learn to fly and so are nearer people who fish, said Ms Thornton.

The young bird stuck on the lamp-post on Monday was not a special case, she said. "It's a regular occurrence."

The bird injured its eye while thrashing about on the lamp-post, but is now recovering at a vets.