Seals stoned and chased in spate of attacks over Easter

Wildlife charity BDMLR said this incident involved a dog chasing a seal into the water in Fraisthorpe, East Yorkshire

Seals were pelted with stones, grabbed by their flippers and chased by dogs in a spate of attacks on English beaches over Easter, a charity has said.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said an "unprecedented" number of cases were reported in Yorkshire, Kent, Essex and Northumberland.

The charity also said some of its volunteer medics who were treating the injured animals had been abused.

On Good Friday alone there were five incidents before lunchtime, it added.

In one incident in Hornsea, East Yorkshire, people were seen trying to pick up a four-month-old female seal by its hind flippers to drag it out to sea.

Emily Mayman, a coordinator at BDMLR, said the pup was "pelted in the face with sand and stones by adults and children and suffered injuries to her head and eye".

Ms Mayman said a group of swimmers who saw the attack formed a protective ring around her until help arrived.

The seal was taken away for treatment by a vet and returned safely to the water the next day.

In Hornsea, East Yorkshire, people were seen trying to pick up this four-month-old female seal by its hind flippers, British Divers Marine Life Rescue said

'Daily occurrence'

Meanwhile, in an incident in Kent, a seal which was known to have come from France was repeatedly chased in and out of the sea by an uncontrolled dog.

Seals were also disturbed in Essex and elsewhere along the east coast, including in Bridlington, Flamborough, Fraisthorpe, Whitby, and in Beadnell, Northumberland.

In one incident in Yorkshire a woman was bitten by a seal she was trying to pick up to show to her children, the charity said.

Dan Jarvis, director of welfare at BDMLR, said over the past three or four years harassment of seals had become "an almost daily occurrence somewhere in the country".

"But I've never heard of so many attacks in such a short space of time as there were at Easter," he added.

Mr Jarvis said people should keep dogs under control and "respect and give space to wildlife".

He said anyone who witnessed an attack on seals should call the police.