A RESTAURANT manager and head chef has spoken of his “shock’ after being the recipient of a very fishy surprise.

Paul Dewar, 53, of The Stan Laurel Inn, in Ulverston, was preparing the specials board when he came across two heavy-duty plastic pieces in a trout’s stomach.

“It was a shock, especially because this is the first time I’ve come across something like this," he said.

“I’ve been running the pub for 12 years and before that I ran a pub in Kendal for over five years, and this stunned me.

Mr Dewar revealed the largest piece of heavy-duty plastic found inside the trout was three centimetres long.

He added: “I’m astounded with how the fish was able to swallow such a large shard, but it seems unfortunately that’s the world we’re living in.

“You hear these horror stories about whales having stomachs full of plastic waste, but I think this situation has really hit home for me as it is now happening on our doorstep.

“It’s alarming and there needs to be a complete overhaul by the government of how we recycling our plastics, cardboard and glass.”

A spokesman from the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: “We’re all aware of plastics in the ocean thanks to David Attenborough’s Blue Planet series, but this has made some people think the problem is happening elsewhere.

“Although it’s shocking to find a large piece of plastic in a fish, most of the fish we consume will contain micro-plastics; that’s just plastic we can’t see.

“Plastics are not only entering our food chain but are also being consumed by seabirds and mammals, often killing them, and damaging our coastal habitats.”

Cumbria Wildlife Trust collected over six tonnes of litter from Cumbrian beaches last year as well as other larger waste products, which could not be weighed: for example, fridge-freezers and burnt-out motorbikes.