A distraught dog owner is appealing to anglers to take their fishing tackle home after her pet swallowed a hook left near a Pembrokeshire beach.

Labrador Jess had to undergo an operation to remove the hook from her stomach.

And owner Sara Josey was told by vets that if she had not acted so quickly, the consequences could have been far worse.

"I want to make fishermen aware of what can happen, and tell other members of the public to be vigilant," she said.

"Jess is a sweet-natured dog; she really didn't deserve to go through all this pain because of someone's careless actions."

Sara, of Valley Road, Saundersfoot, had taken her three rescued dogs - six-year-old Jess; poodle-cross Teddy and saluki-cross Poppy - to the far end of Amroth beach on Monday morning of last week.

"We finished our walk and were on the promenade when Jess started chewing something. I could see some fishing line sticking out of her mouth. I gently pulled it, but it was stuck," she told the Western Telegraph.

"We had to rush her down to Tenby vets where they did an X-ray and found that she had a fishing hook in her stomach.

"They immediately operated on her to remove the hook and line.

"The vets said it was very lucky that I had realised what had happened and taken her down so quickly, or it could have been even worse."

Jess is now making a good recovery, but Sara added: "It was all very distressing. It has caused my dog a lot of pain and cost a lot of money, and all because of someone being careless.

"I always keep a look out on the beach and have found fishing line, hooks and weights many times before and taken them to the bin, but I let my guard down for a second on the promenade with terrible consequences."