I am writing to commend the work of the RSPCA at a local, hands-on level, having been aware recently of their getting a bad press nationally for supposedly putting more energy into political campaigning than helping injured animals and birds. My experience of them was very positive.

On Thursday, July 2, I was taking my dog for a walk in a field near our house when I spotted a large seagull on the ground who seemed unable to fly. I checked back in the evening after work to see if it had moved and was still alive: it was still there and had hopped to the shelter of a wall.

I then rang the RSPCA at 7.45pm and by 8pm the person I spoke to had passed the message on and a warden drove all the way here in Skelsmergh from Morecambe.

She arrived with a carrier box and then took the bird away. Apparently a similar case had come in the day before and she thought the bird had probably eaten poison.

They will even do a post-mortem examination as a matter of course, which impressed me.

Both people I dealt with were very pleasant and assured me I had done the right thing by reporting the incident.

I was aware, even as a bird-lover, that seagulls are not everyone’s favourite bird, but to me, and clearly to them also, it was a creature in distress who would have had an unpleasant death, probably being eaten by a fox! I now intend to join the local branch and give them support.

Rosemary Pitt

Skelsmergh