Rubbish dumping kills otter at Cresswell Pond

Bird watchers at the Northumberland Wildlife Trust nature reserve had been observing the young otter hunting and feeding in the pond. They then saw it become entangled in the floating duvet, and contacted the trust.

Trust staff launched a boat but by the time they reached the otter, it was dead.

"It seems like someone has been fly-tipping. The message is don't dump rubbish in the countryside because it kills wildlife," said Duncan Hutt , trust head of land management. "The same thing is happening at sea. The seas are full of rubbish and the same sort of incident is happening every day with birds, seals, and dolphins."

Meanwhile, otters which have returned to a Tyneside waterway for the first time in more than 50 years, are to be given a helping hand.

The animals are back on the River Don in South Tyneside and council's countryside team is planning to help their comeback after securing a £28,500 grant from SITA.

The money will be spent on installing mammal bridges and local people and community groups can also play their part by getting involved in planting around new otter habitats.

Barrie Scorer, council lead member for the environment, said: "It is fantastic to see otters back on the River Don."