Rescuers dig trapped seal pup out of sea defences

Three people managed to rescue a grey seal pup from drowning after it became trapped in sea defences on a Norfolk beach.

The young seal was spotted partially buried in the sand on Waxham beach by a photographer.

With concerns about the tide, volunteer rescuers eventually freed the pup and released it back on to the beach uninjured.

Sally Butler, a trustee and part of the rescue team at Friends of Horsey Seals (FoHS), said: "It was quite shocking."

"Fortunately I have a little spade on my truck... so we managed to dig it out a little bit and then managed to pull it out of the sand," she added.

She said it was fortunate the alarm was raised in daylight on Friday and was thankful the team reached the stricken seal before the tide came in.

So far there have been about 3,400 seal pups born on the coast from Waxham to Winterton, FoHS said.

With high tides and strong winds in November, the group has seen pups "washed up and down the coast".

Ms Butler said the sea defences did a "really, really good job" at protecting the cliffs, but said 13 pups became trapped in them last year and had to be freed.

"When you get high tides and big concrete sea defences, these pups have nowhere to go," she added.

Ms Butler said it was "vitally important" members of the public did not try to rescue seals themselves or put them back into the sea, adding the group should be contacted instead.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: "When designing our assets we do consider how they interact with wildlife, by working closely with our ecological advisors.

"We are regularly reviewing how our assets can operate to reduce flood risk to communities whilst still protecting wildlife."

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830