Thoughtless anglers cause injury to dogs

Kevin Hicks was walking his two Shetland sheepdogs along the beach near Sea Avenue when they walked into a fishing line and became tangled up in it.

"They panicked and one dog got a hook caught up in its paw, and the other had hooks in its coat. I had to carry the dogs, bleeding, up the beach to my car, and then drive them to the vet at Littlehampton.

"The fishing line was a foot above the ground, pegged into the beach, and you just couldn't see it. It would have been exposed several hours either side of the low tide and anyone else with dogs, or even a child, could have run straight into it.

"This happened at 6.15pm when it was still broad daylight and there are plenty of people still around on the beach, which makes it all the more irresponsible," said Mr Hicks, who was left with a 125 bill for the treatment at Fitzalan House veterinary surgery.

The following day, Mr Hicks confronted the man he believed had laid out the line and hooks on the beach.

"He just said people shouldn't let their dogs run on the beach."

Ian Morris, the vet who removed the hooks from the dogs, said he hoped the incident would alert fishermen to the dangers of leaving lines unattended on the beach.

"The hook was pulled through the skin of one of the dogs. What made it worse was that the dogs panicked, and then started thrashing about. It could have been very nasty."

A spokesman for Arun District Council pointed out that specific byelaws in force within the district, prevented people from acting in a manner likely to interfere with, or cause annoyance to, any person using the foreshore or promenade areas.

"Should any resident witness baited fishing lines being placed on the beach, in such a manner as to create the potential for harm, then they should note down the time and location, along with any other details '“ for example a vehicle's registration number '“ and pass this to the police."

The council's foreshores team was working diligently to remove any such articles found and had already removed a large number of fishing nets from groynes on beaches.