Seal selfie hunters warned to stay away

A seal rescued at Scarborough

A marine charity has urged people not to approach seals they see on North Yorkshire's beaches.

It comes after a young seal was rescued from Scarborough beach after people with dogs tried to take photographs next to it.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue said the number of incidents of people approaching seals on beaches was rising.

"If you spot a seal you're concerned about the best thing to do is stay away from it," a spokesperson said.

Em Mayman from British Divers Marine Life Rescue told BBC Radio York: "We're seeing an increase in people approaching them, trying to put them back in the water or physically chasing them, and all we ask is for people to give them a lot of space because they can bite.

"The biggest thing is don't let children or dogs approach them."

Ms Mayman warned: "If your dog doesn't have good recall then we ask that people keep them on a lead so neither the dog nor the seal start biting each other - and of course we don't want children getting bitten as a result of being asked to approach a seal for a photograph."

'Leave them alone'

People took to social media at the weekend to criticise people trying to take selfies next to a young seal which had appeared on Scarborough beach.

They raised concerns about how close some people got to the seal and the fact some dogs were being allowed to get close enough to sniff the creature.

The animal was captured by members of British Divers Marine Life Rescue and was checked over before being safely relocated away from Scarborough beach.

Ms Mayman said: "It happens all the time and the number of incidents is going up which is quite disappointing.

"Our medics are having to monitor seals that appear on beaches, because people just won't leave them alone."

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