Fishermen have found a bizarre way of preventing seals from devastating their catches - inflatable sharks.

The blow-up Jaws lookalikes, which act like aquatic scarecrows, can now be seen along the North Yorkshire coast.

Trawlermen claim the amount of fish eaten by seals is putting their livelihoods in jeopardy.

The ingenious way of combating the problem has been discovered by Filey fisherman Foster Cammish.

He has tied 7ft inflatable sharks to his nets when he goes out to sea, and the unusual tactic is working a treat.

Mr Cammish, 55, a lifelong fisherman, said: "I have fastened one of the inflatable sharks on top of my nets and two others are half-filled with water so they are under the surface.

"It's the same principle as using a scarecrow in a field to scare off birds.

"A shark is a natural predator for a seal so they are scared off. People think of seals as nice and cuddly but they can be quite vicious.

"They have been taking so much of my catch that I was prepared to try anything."

Mr Cammish said he picked up the idea from a marine scientist after reaching the end of his tether with seals not just devastating his catch, but also damaging nets.

"There are a growing number of colonies of seals because there is no culling," he said. "They are very clever because they chase the fish into the nets and then raid them."

Seals are not the only problem facing the fishing industry.

Fred Normandale, chairman of Scarborough Inshore Fishermen's Society, and one of the Yorkshire Coast's leading skippers, said seismic surveys in the North Sea - firing sonic charges - were resulting in millions of immature fish being slaughtered.