A DOG owner in Burnham-on-Sea is warning others to be wary after her beloved dog got his head caught in a snare.

Charlotte Wroe was walking with her dog, Max, an ex-stray husky cross, along a public footpath on Withy Road in Highbridge on Saturday (October 12) when he got his head caught in a snare which was staked along a fallen tree.

Luckily Charlotte and a friend she was walking with managed to free Max from the snare's clutches but Charlotte said it was a 'very traumatising' experience for her and her dog.

She said: "The barbed snare was set on a badger run that went across a public footpath. It was staked along a fallen tree, with the loop of the snare at animal level.

"My beloved dog caught his head on the loop of the snare at 4pm on an afternoon walk, a very traumatising experience for me and my dog Max.

"It was lucky I was walking with a friend that was able to help me free him.

"Max is an ex-stray husky-cross rescued from Dorset and has always struggled with being ‘man handled’ so it was quite a challenge to get him free of the barbed wire snare without tearing his skin."

Charlotte said she has reported the incident to the police and she wants to urge people to be vigilant for snares when walking their dogs in Burnham and Highbridge so no more pets are affected.

Charlotte added: "I don’t know the legalities of setting snares but I believe they can only be set for foxes and rabbits (which I do not agree with) on your own land.

"This was clearly set for badgers on a badger path. It was attached to the ground with a piece of wood that probably wouldn’t have stopped the badger from running off with the barbed wire still attached to it.

"It would have been a very slow and painful death for the badger, unless it was just meant to hold the badger until the person that set it could shoot it? Or perhaps it would have been found by a dog walker in the morning.

"It’s horrible to think about these snares being set on private land, but on a public footpath is highly dangerous to people and animals.

"All dogs seek out fox and badger faeces and follow their smells, to think they could be caught in a snare is horrible.

"I’d like all dog walkers to be aware they could be out there. I’d hate someone else to have to go through this.

"The snare was found on Withy Road, Highbridge, there’s a dog poo bin at the bottom of the path. Anyone that walks there regularly, please be aware of the snares that could be out in the evening."

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Police have had a report of a dog being caught in a snare Highbridge and are looking to see whether any offences have been committed."