Stranded Loggerhead turtles receive treatment in Cornwall

Three sea turtles are receving rehabilitation treatment after being rescued

An aquarium in Newquay is providing rehabilitation treatment for three juvenile loggerhead sea turtles.

The Blue Reef Aquarium said the turtles had been brought for care after they had been "taken off course by storms".

Two turtles were rescued from Perranporth beach near Newquay, and the other at Widemouth Bay in Bude.

Steve Matchett, general manager at the aquarium, said the turtles had been found in an "extremely weakened state".

He said: "They are from warm waters and get taken off course by storms when following warm Atlantic currents.

"When they are brought to us we follow an established procedure to try and return them to full health and get them ready for release back into warmer waters, usually near the Canary Isles."

The turtles were found on two different beaches in Cornwall

The aquarium said the turtles were very lucky as most turtles did not survive after being too cold for a long period of time.

It offered the following advice to anyone who found a stranded sea turtle:

• Do not attempt to return them to sea

• Wrap them in a towel soaked in seawater without covering nostrils

• Put it in a secure place on its belly and do not attempt to warm it up

• If inactive, raise the back end of its shell to rest it at a 30 degree angle so its lungs can drain

Assistant Curator Lara Heaney said it could sometimes be a "long process to recovery".

She said: “Over a period of weeks we very gradually raise the temperature of the water and when the turtles become more active we can then start them feeding and swimming.

"We always have to be mindful of hidden internal injuries before we can be confident any are on the way to a full recovery."