AN ISLANDER has released a viral tirade — against a helium balloon.

Matthew Chatfield, former IWC environmental officer and Gift to Nature manger, was walking along Westridge Road, Ryde when he saw the balloon sticking out of the hedge.

He said: "I knew I had to get the thing down before it caused any more harm. It took me a bit of struggling with the thorns but I got it out.

"Helium balloons in the countryside really annoy me, because it is such a daft way to litter our island, and the sea. Balloons are dangerous for sea animals especially, as they often get eaten by turtles, seabirds, dolphins and other marine mammals.

"I get very sad when people release balloons to mark somebody's death or some tragic event — it just seems to cruel to send off these potentially deadly things in such circumstances, especially here on the Island where the water and the coast is so important to us."