GAMEKEEPERS and land-owners have been warned that bad practices will not be tolerated after an otter died an agonising death in a legal trap.

Police wildlife officer Mike Pannett was called to a stretch of water on the Derwent river network, in North Yorkshire, after a passer-by discovered the animal.

It had entered the legal trap, used for catching vermin such as mink, and had set off the spring door. But then it tried to chew through the wire bars, and had struggled - still in the trap - towards the water, where it drowned.

"It will have died a very appalling death," said PC Pannett.

"It is a totally legal trap, but in my opinion it has been set in a very unprofessional place.

"It's obvious to me that the otter had been in there longer than 24 hours."

He said humane traps, such as the one used, must be checked at least every 24 hours.

"I want to make sure this does not happen again," he said.

"This is a big message to all gamekeepers and landowners that bad practice will not be tolerated."