A FAMILY fishing trip turned to distress when a mother and her two children spotted youngsters hooking a goose from the water.

Katrina Cogan had taken her children Laura, 14 and Christopher, nine, fishing on the banks of the River Medway in Maidstone when they were confronted with the scene on the opposite bank.

Mrs Cogan, 30, of Addison Close, East Malling, said: "They were 12 or 13-year-old lads. They hooked the goose with a fishing line. It was a thick fishing line.

"They didn’t give two hoots - they deliberately cast out and caught this goose."

Mrs Cogan said one of the youngsters then bit off his fishing line, leaving the hook embedded in the bird with a length of thick line attached to it.

With several onlookers shouting at them, the boys left , alhough one returned later to break up his fishing rod and fling it into the water.

Mrs Cogan said she and her children had been upset by the incident, which happened near Maidstone Bridge at about 10am.

Mrs Cogan said: "Seeing them - it frightened me and worried the kids. They’ve just got into fishing in a big way.

"I go with them to support them and help them with it. We go to the river at Maidstone every Saturday and fish.

"We were all upset. We will still go, but I just want other people to be aware of the wildlife that’s about."

An RSPCA spokesman said: "Despite their age, the RSPCA can prosecute for cruelty. If anybody sees anything like this happening again, we would like them to contact us on the RSPCA cruelty line, 0870 5555 999."