An animal protection group has urged the public to properly dispose of rubbish instead of throwing it away leaving a potential death trap for wildlife.

The warning was issued after Royal Gazette photographer Glenn Tucker took a photograph of a great blue heron sitting on the edge of the rocks at Dolly's Bay, St. David's.

Fishing line was tangled around the bird's legs along with a weight and hook.

Andrew Dobson, of the Bermuda Audubon Society, said: "Obviously one of the focuses of the Bermuda Audubon Society is the welfare of wild birds. It's not uncommon, unfortunately, for birds to be found in a distressed state having become entangled in fishing line taken from fishing hooks.

"The birds that tend to be most prone to that are herons, sea birds, especially sea gulls, and then of course the other problem is with kite strings that get tangled in trees and left. Obviously birds can fly into these and break their wings. One of the birds that's suffered in particular is the barn owl."

He continued: "We would encourage the public, especially anglers and fishermen to make sure that they discard any unwanted fishing line properly because of the potential risk."