A STRANDED six-week-old otter was saved by Secret World rescue centre in East Huntspill - before it quite literally went through the mill.

The furry cub, named Brook by staff at the centre, was found floundering in water at the Curry Pool Mill in Cannington, near Bridgwater.

Staff at the mill feared the otter was injured, but Secret World rescuers confirmed Brook could not swim properly because of his young age and took the creature back to their centre to help its development.

Pauline Kidner, from Secret World, told the Weekly News: "He's one that came in from the Curry Pool Mill site in Cannington and must have just come out of his holt.

"He'd almost gone through the water mill and the staff thought he had injured his back because he wasn't moving properly - but it was only because he is so young."

Brook will undergo a treatment programme, enabling him to swim and cope in the wild - following in the footsteps of famous Secret World otters Splish, Splash and Splosh, whose progress at the centre was covered on BBC's The One Show.

Pauline said: "He's in the kitchen now with us taking a bottle.

"It's a long programme. First you have to wait until he gets interested in fish, then you have to wait to until he learns how to swim.

"We do this first in a bath then he will be taken to a swimming pool in one of our enclosures."

Brook will be cared for at the centre until he is able to cope on his own in the wild, when he will be released in Somerset.

The watery mammal also has a newfound friend at the centre, a teddy bear, to give him some extra comfort during his treatment.

"The teddy gives him something to snuggle up to," added Pauline.