A SWAN had to be rescued after she got a fishing hook stuck in her neck in Widnes.

Visitors at Spike Island raised the alarm after spotting a triple-barbed pike hook stuck in her throat.

RSPCA inspector Louise Showering said: “We managed to catch the swan and take her immediately to a vets.

“Thankfully, the tackle had not done too much damage and she was rescued in time - but this could have been a very different story, as sadly we do see many incidents where animals have not been so lucky after getting fishing hooks and tackle stuck in their throats or getting tangled up in discarded fishing litter, dying a horrible death.”

The RSPCA is urging anglers to dispose of fishing litter properly.

The swan was found injured on Monday, May 23.

“It is very frustrating as this could have been so easily been avoided if someone had disposed of their fishing hook correctly in the first place,” added Inspector Showering.

“Although most anglers do clean up after themselves, fishing litter is still a major problem and it is so damaging to wildlife.

“Please remember to take home any litter if you go fishing - discarded lines and hooks can easily snag water birds and other wildlife, causing terrible injuries and suffering.

“All it takes is a little thought and care and an animal’s life could be saved.”

The swan was treated by the vet before being released back to the wild by Inspector Showering.

More than 1,000 wild birds were admitted to RSPCA wildlife centres from 2005 to 2013 as a result of entanglement with fishing litter.

More than half of these were swans.

The RSPCA is a charity and relies on public donations to exist.

To assist inspectors carry out their vital work text HELP to 78866 to give £3.

Texts cost £3 + one standard network rate message.