A photograph published in the Chronicle of a herring gull, apparently falling victim to a discarded fishing hook, was incorrectly labelled according to a retired engineer in Dartmouth.

Graham Bufton, who lives in Dartmouth and was an engineer before he retired, said: “The photograph in the Chronicle Friday, August 4th, showed a herring gull with a hook-shaped device on its beak. It was identified as a fishing hook. It accompanied a plea from the RSPCA, for fishermen to be careful about their discarded gear.

“The identification of the culprit in the photograph was wrong. It is, in fact, a lynch pin. Invented in 1949, this particular lynch pin is a very clever device for retaining hydraulic linkages in tractors. I can quite imagine, if a seagull attempted to pick one up in its beak, it could snap shut and trap its beak.”