Desperate search for seal seen entangled in ropes in drone footage taken off Yorkshire coast

A drone pilot took an image of the young pup caught in what appeared to be fishing tackle at Fraisthorpe on Saturday.

The charity said: “The pup hauled out on the beach, but unfortunately was scared by nearby beachgoers and fled back in to the sea and swam off, carrying the heavy burden with it.

“A short while later, more reports came in that an entangled seal was seen in south Bridlington. The reporting member of public in Bridlington did the right thing keeping away from the pup, but sadly it again returned to the water and swam off. Our medics searched extensively in the dark to try and locate the seal pup.

“Local residents and their children then alerted the medics to the presence of a seal pup at South Marine Drive. A rescue was planned as the pup was hauled out on the water's edge. With boards and equipment ready to catch the seal, they approached and discovered it was a different animal.

“This younger seal was underweight and had an eye infection so was rescued for treatment. Sadly the entangled seal was not found despite their searching, and BDMLR ask that if anyone spots the entangled seal in any part of the coastline, that they call the charity for help.”

The charity was involved in monitoring Arctic walrus Thor when the mammal visited Scarborough last month.