A FISHING club has urged its members to take better care after an owl became tangled in fishing line - but miraculously survived.

Royston Canal Club, an award-winning stretch of water between Carlton and Royston, was where the bird of prey became stuck.

It’s thought fishing line, which had been cast too far, became stuck and so a fisherman cut the line but left the remnants dangling from the far bank.

Dedicated volunteers who maintain the stretch were alerted to the owl’s predicament on Wednesday but frozen water and its positioning made it impossible for them to attempt a rescue until yesterday morning.

Secretary John Clare told the Chronicle: “We assumed it sadly died and that was upsetting for us in particular as they’re an endangered species and we’ve put so much time and effort in over the last 30 years for the canal to be what it is now.

“I’ve never seen an owl in all my time here so it took us aback, but members managed to rescue it yesterday and took it to a vet.

“What we will do though is express to our members that they must take more responsible if their line is broken off, or at the very least tell us about it.

“Accidents can happen and every fisherman has had an incident in which their line has been snapped off, but unfortunately this shows what can happen.”

Councillor Caroline Makinson, who represents the Royston ward, added: “It’s a lovely stretch that’s meticulously looked after by several people and I know they’ve been really upset about what’s happened this week.

“Hopefully those who go fishing on the stretch will take more care to avoid this from happening again.”