Crabs found dumped miles from sea

All but one of the crabs survived after being found dumped

A bucket filled with 26 crabs was found dumped miles from their natural habitat in land-locked Shropshire.

Householder Jane Waine had been putting the bins out at home in Bridgnorth when she found the bright yellow plastic bucket at the end of the driveway.

She contacted the RSPCA which sent officers to go and pick up the creatures.

All but one of the crabs survived and they are now in a quarantine unit at Birmingham's National Sea Life Centre.

Experts urged parents to ensure their children do not bring the creatures home from the seaside.

Ms Waine, of Tasley, said: "I was putting the bins out when I saw a flash of yellow, which turned out to be a kiddie's bucket full of crabs, all climbing on top of each other.

"It was just dumped alongside several bin bags."

'Sensitive creatures'

RSPCA animal collection officer Elaine Williams said: "We rescue thousands of animals every year, but you don't expect to be rescuing crabs in the Midlands, about as far from the coast as it's possible to get in the UK."

The crabs are expected to go on display in the Sea Life Centre's rock pools soon.

Lynsey Thompson, from the centre, said it was the second crab rescue from the West Midlands in two months.

She said: "The first involved a large shore crab found walking down the middle of the road in Winson Green (in Birmingham), but sadly he didn't survive.

"We're hoping that this isn't the start of a worrying new craze for bringing crabs back from holiday, especially with our seaside resorts reporting a bit of a resurgence this year."

She added: "Crabs are sensitive creatures that need to be kept at a certain temperature, and will die if kept out of water for very long."