ROYAL Navy divers have been drafted in to help clear a popular diving wreck of an abandoned fishing net.

Work has been ongoing since November to clear the 100m net from the Scylla reef off Whitsand Bay.

Headed up by the National Marine Aquarium in Coxside, a team of professional divers has been working to remove the remaining parts of the net.

Experts say the net is still causing damage to the reef and posing a threat to both marine wildlife and recreational divers.

The team will now be assisted by members of the Royal Navy's Southern Diving Unit 1, which is based at Devonport Naval Base.

A spokesman for the NMA said the remaining net must now be painstakingly cut free by hand, after it became apparent that removal using other means was not going to be possible.

Dr David Gibson, managing director at the National Marine Aquarium, said: "We are hugely grateful for the support that we are now receiving from the Southern Diving Unit, without whom it would not be possible to continue the removal of the net.

"We are hoping to take advantage of any windows of good weather this week to try and complete what has turned out to be a very difficult and time consuming task."

Investigations are still ongoing as to how the net came to get caught on the renowned conservation site, destroying a large section of the reef.

The National Marine Aquarium is continuing to strongly advise against any dives over the reef, until further information is available.