A local charity is calling for helium balloons to be banned.

It comes after two members of the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch found a Disney themed helium balloon 17 miles out to sea earlier this month.

The charity is warning the public of the dangers they have to sea creatures, who could eat them or get stuck in them.

The Isle of Man's Office of Fair Trading made it illegal to release helium balloons, but the government only deals with issues which relate to human health and not animals.

In a post on Facebook the charity said: 'They should not be available for sale, full stop.

'People will always accidently loose balloons. I wouldn't have thought this balloon was part of a 'planned release'. Just a small child who didn't hold on tightly.

'There is really no excuse for balloons anymore. I'm sure the young child who had this Disney balloon would be very upset to find out that it blew 17 miles out to sea.' You can find out more about the work the charity does here: https://www.mwdw.net/