A dog lover is warning other owners and parents to be extra vigilant after her Jack Russell almost swallowed a fish hook.

Carole Nealey was walking Tuppence by the beach at The Leas, Minster, when she noticed the dog had something protruding from her mouth.

At first, the 66-year-old thought it was an old bone until she got closer and saw it was a sharp piece of metal with fish bait attached to it.

She said: “I broke off some of the food attached to the hook so it fell on the sand and then I was able to get the rest of the metal out of her mouth.

“If she had clamped down on it any more I think I would have ended up at the vets.

“There’s children running along there – it could’ve gone in their foot. It would not be life-threatening, but that is not the point.”

Mrs Nealey, who lives with her husband Martin in Southsea Avenue, Minster, is now appealing for anglers and beachgoers to make sure they take all of their rubbish away with them.

She added: “The hook was not dropped, it had been covered up and it was above the tide line so it didn’t wash up.

“If you bring something with you to the beach, take it away with you.”

Swale council’s seafront team work every day, cleaning all of the Island’s beaches, including Minster and Sheerness, taking away litter.

In February, a Marine Conservation Society-led action day saw more than a dozen volunteers fill 15 bin bags of rubbish from Shingle Bank, between The Leas and Barton’s Point, Sheerness.

Seafront officer Ian Arnell said: “We do the best we can, but we wish anglers and dog owners would be more responsible.

“It varies how much we take away every day, but in Minster on some days it can be 10 or 15 bags full.”

There will be another big beach clean on Friday, September 18, between 10am and 2pm. To get involved, go to www.mcsuk.org/foreverfish