A SEAMAN has been taken to hospital with a paralysed arm and an injured hand - after being stung by a fish.

The man, a member of the crew of the tanker, Manuella, was fishing over the side of the vessel when it is thought he landed his four inch long catch with a painful sting.

The fish was believed to be is a Lesser Weever, which is armed with a venom filled dorsal spine - a defence mechanism it uses when attacked by a predator.

Ian Hawkins, operations manager at Sea Life, Scarborough, said: "They have a spine on their backs which sticks out if anyone comes into contact with them.

"I have known some people stung by them who suffer a reduction in their blood-oxygen levels and can be kept in hospital overnight for observation. But I have never known anyone become paralysed."

Mr Hawkins said Little Weevers were now quite common off North-East coast, where they can be a menace to unwary bathers going for a paddle.

The injured man, a Pole, was taken off the tanker, which is berthed in Tees Harbour, near Redcar, by a pilot cutter and taken by ambulance to Middlesbrough General Hospital.