Rare turtle is rescued from beach

The turtle is expected to be airlifted back to warmer waters

An endangered turtle normally found in waters around the Canary Islands has been rescued on a Cornish beach.

The 50cm-long (20ins) loggerhead turtle was spotted by a dog walker on Blackrock Beach near Bude.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity said it was in a severely weakened state, covered in oil and stuck in a mound of seaweed.

Keepers at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay have named it James Bond after his official stranding number, 007.

The aquarium plans to nurse the animal back to health and have it airlifted to warmer waters at a later date.

Loggerheads (Caretta caretta) are categorised as endangered on the internationally-recognised red list of threatened species.

There has been a rise in loggerhead turtle sightings in UK waters in the past 20 years.