Image caption The court heard the seagull later died and was given a funeral at sea by Lowes at Larne Harbour

A man who stormed out of a veterinary surgery after vets refused to treat a bleeding seagull has been given a conditional discharge.

Colin Lowes, 47, from Torr Gardens, Larne, brought the injured bird to the vet in the town last June.

When he was told the bird could not be treated because it was a wild animal he damaged a door on his way out.

The court heard the seagull later died and was given a funeral at sea by Lowes at Larne Harbour.

Ballymena Magistrates Court was told that after police received a report of criminal damage, they went to Mr Lowes' home and found him sitting with the injured seabird.

He had brought it bare-chested and wrapped in a t-shirt to the surgery.

After staff told Lowes they could not deal with the bird, they told him to contact the USPCA.

The court heard it had cost more than £150 to fix the door at the surgery.

A defence lawyer for Lowes said his client had been out with his partner when he found the injured seagull and thinking he was "doing the decent thing" for the bird, which was bleeding, he took it to the vets.

The lawyer said Lowes was essentially told that as it was a wild animal, there was nothing they could do and on the way out, "struggling with the bird, the door was accidentally cracked."

The judge told Lowes he had no doubt he was "acting in the best interests of this creature" but he should have taken the advice of the vet and contacted either the USPCA or the RSPB.

He gave Lowes a one year conditional discharge and ordered him to pay for the damage to the door.