A small charity on the Kenyan coast has become vital to the region's majestic turtle population, saving thousands from poachers, fishermen's nets and ever-worsening plastic pollution.

On the beach of the seaside town of Watamu, it takes four men to heave the huge Loggerhead sea turtle into the back of a car.

She has just been saved from a fishing tackle and will be taken to a nearby clinic to be checked for injuries, then weighed, tagged and released back into the sea.

A Kenyan NGO, Local Ocean Conservation (LOC), has been doing this work for almost three decades and has carried out some 24,000 rescues.

"Every time I release a turtle, it's a really great joy for me. My motivation gets stronger and stronger," said Fikiri Kiponda, 47, who has been part of LOC's 20-odd staff for 16 years.

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