A distraught dog lover, whose pet died after swallowing a lethal metal hook, has hit out at careless fishermen.

David Long's prized Irish wolfhound puppy, Tess, gulped down the four-inch fishing hook during a walk on Canvey seafront and later died in his arms.

Tess fell poorly on Sunday night and began to have difficulty breathing. Unaware of what was slowly killing Tess, Mr Long, 43, of Point Road, Canvey, called a vet who advised him to bring the dog to the practice in the morning.

But in the middle of the night Tess became worse and Mr Long called the vet again. While he was on the telephone, the 18-month-old pup began convulsing and died in his arms.

He took her straight to the vet who carried out an immediate post mortem. He said: "I just could not believe it when the vet came out with a dirty great fish hook with the line still attached. The shock of it!

" I am a fisherman and even I was surprised to see a four-inch long hook. It looked like something you would catch a shark with. It basically ripped Tess' intestines and she died from poisoning.

"She suffered so much. I am devastated and so annoyed at the same time. It need never have happened.

"Tess was my pride and joy. A fish hook, carelessly discarded by a thoughtless fisherman, has killed her.

"It could have been avoided if the fisherman had just taken his rubbish home."

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