CONCERNS around the safety of wildlife have been raised as facemasks were littered across Wiltshire and hung up in bushes.

Beverley Taylor, 60, of Royal Wootton Bassett, spotted one of the disposable facemasks hanging up in a hedge in the Woodshaw area while she was on her morning walk on Monday.

She said: "I was out walking in the morning and I saw that someone had hung their mask on the ivy outside of someone's house. There were also five bins nearby, and that person could have put it in the bin instead.

"It's not only a worry for us, but it's also the wildlife too and what it's doing to them. The straps could be a choking hazard. I think maybe the government could encourage people to stop buying these disposable ones and get the masks that you have to wash."

Beverley posted the picture on Facebook, and she received a couple of dozen comments from people who live in the town who have also noticed the problem. And she is urging people to dispose of them properly or to invest in reusable masks.

"I think it's all over, I work in Swindon, and when I come out of work, I see them all on the floor. Again, it's just people can't be bothered with them, but what I don't think they realise is that people can't just pick up after them because the masks might have the virus on them," She said.