ANGLERS are being urged not to fish at a pond in Hartlepool to help protect swans.

The appeal has been issued by council chiefs who fear that discarded hooks and fishing lines pose a serious threat to the birds.

It follows their decision to call in Environment Agency officials to remove fish released illegally into the pond, on the Warrior Park estate, in Seaton Carew.

Agency staff first removed fish from the pond over a year ago, and they have now returned to carry out a fresh check of the waters.

"The RSPCA has been called out on a number of occasions, in the past, to help birds tangled up in discarded line and injured by hooks," said David Frame, the council's town care manager (South).

"We asked the Environment Agency to help us last year by removing fish that had been illegally placed there, but recently there have been reports of more fish being released into the water.

"As a result, we asked the Environment Agency to return and staff did a trawl of the waters to remove fish.

"The lakes at Rossmere Park and Ward Jackson Park are both stocked with fish, and we would urge anglers to fish responsibly at these designated places rather than at the Warrior Park pond."