Hundreds of leatherback turtle eggs have been crushed by bulldozers along the coast of Trinidad.

Construction workers were trying to correct a shifting river which was heading in the direction of a nature reserve and hotel but mistakenly removed a large part of the beach where the eggs were laid.

The stretch of the Grande Riviere beach in the Caribbean island of Trinidad is a prime nesting site for many species of sea turtles.

Female leatherback turtles return to the beach to lay, nuture and hatch their eggs.

Conservationists have called for an inquiry into why this has happened and said the workers were not properly supervised while operating the heavy machinery.