A puffin that was rescued from a canal in Brentford is said to be "doing fine" and is due to be released back into the wild.

The sea bird was found in the Grand Union Canal last Wednesday (April 8) and taken to the Shepperton Swan Sanctuary. It is thought he was blown off course by strong winds.

House boat resident Jen Page spotted the bird with its brightly-coloured bill while out working and called the sanctuary, in Shepperton, Surrey.

After a short stay, where he took advantage of the sanctuary’s paddling pool, he was sent to a specialist in Dorset, where he is now recovering.

Dot Beeson, founder of the Swan Sanctuary, said: “We rested him, fed him and transferred him to a sea bird specialist in Dorset.

“The lady he has gone to has another one there and there’s colony of them off Dorset.

“The aim will be to release him back into the wild. A lot of them blew off course in the windy weather. It’s not a bird you see very much even on our coastline.

“We rested him overnight and the next morning he was transferred. It was wonderful.

“He’s a bit underweight. He was a youngster from last year and may have experienced feeding problems. I had an email on Thursday morning that said he was doing fine.”