THE case of a swan snared by a fishing hook has sparked a petition to rid a Droitwich canal basin of illegal anglers.

Vines Lanes residents rescued the injured bird from the Saltway canal basin, where fishing is illegal.

Town councillor John Cook claims the incident, caused by a discarded fishing line, has left neighbours at the end of their tether.

They now plan to present a petition to the town council demanding action is taken against the night-time anglers.

"There is a 'No Fishing' sign, yet the rule is constantly flouted by fishermen who know they should not fish there," said Mr Cook.

"Signs have been removed and turned around. Strong action needs to be taken against these minor vandals. They are up there through the night, too, and the residents are fed up with it. There is no curfew."

Mr Cook said he wants to see people caught fishing there fined, to prevent them spoiling the area.

He was keen to stress that the Railway and Angling Club had nothing to do with the problem and members did all in their power to adhere to the regulations.

Club treasurer, Trevor Grindrod said poaching was a problem along the canal, not just in the Saltway Canal Basin.

"We tried contacting the police and they said it was at the bottom of their list of priorities and they had more important things to concentrate on," he said.

Town policeman Lloyd Buffery said: "Where a stretch of water is privately owned, as is the case with the canal basin, then it is the responsibility of the owner to enforce his own regulations where applicable."

However, this did not preclude the enforcement of the NRA licence by the Police, Bailiff or Environment Agency.

The town council will discuss the problem at its meeting next month.