A SEAGULL was left "battered and bruised" after tangling itself in netting atop a roof in Newport.

The bird had to be rescued by firefighters using a hydraulic platform, at an industrial unit in the Maesglas area of the city.

It is currently recovering at a wildlife hospital after its lucky escape.

A passer-by noticed the distressed bird and called the RSPCA, and when inspector Christine McNeil arrived, she tried unsuccessfully to reach the gull using a rescue pole.

The bird, however, was too high up and the roof too fragile to walk on, so the animal charity worker called in the fire service for help.

A crew from Duffryn fire station used an aerial ladder to get close enough to the bird that an officer could reach out and cut it free.

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The RSPCA said the gull was "completely bound up by the netting" and said such material traps hundreds of birds nationwide every year, usually because it has been put up incorrectly or becomes damaged.

Ms McNeil added: “We don’t know how long the gull had been struggling to get free but it must have been a very unpleasant experience and one which left the animal a little bit battered and bruised.

"It’s frustrating that netting like this, which is meant to deter birds, can often end up trapping them - sometimes with fatal consequences - and as ever, we are extremely grateful to South Wales Fire and Rescue Service for their assistance and compassion.”

The gull has been transferred to Vale Wildlife Hospital and rehabilitation centre in Gloucestershire, where it is recovering from its injuries.