An man was airlifted to hospital after he was stung by a rare poisonous fish.

The 70-year-old man was left fighting for breath after being stung by a weever fish on the beach at Trefor near Caernarfon yesterday morning.

Holyhead Coastguard were alerted and a shore team were sent to the scene.

Read: Warm currents draw swarms of jellyfish to North Wales shores

A Coastguard spokesman said: “Weever fish have spines going along their backs. It’s a small fish but it has a very nasty sting.

“The man picked it up and it stung his hand.

“It’s normally not a life-threatening sting but the man began having respiratory problems.”

The air ambulance based at Caernarfon airport took the man to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor.

Weever fish are normally yellow and about four inches long. They live mostly offshore but come into the shallows during warmer weather.

They are normally found in the tropics but live in small numbers around the British coast.

Share your views about this story using the comment section below.