Water scooters blamed for Norfolk beach seal stampede

Two water scooters reportedly caused seals to stampede into the sea after becoming spooked, volunteers said

Water scooter users have been blamed for "harassing" basking seals, causing them to stampede into the sea, putting their unborn pups at risk.

The skiers were seen on Monday afternoon and reported to Friends of Horsey Seals, whose members watch over the mammals on the Norfolk beach.

A couple who witnessed the incident said two riders hurtled past about 200 seals, spooking them into the sea.

The skiers were said to have returned, riding through the seals in the water.

At this time of year, grey seals, coming ashore at Horsey to moult off their old worn-out coats, are joined by a number of common seals, the volunteer group said.

Seals are a common sight on Horsey beach - on the Norfolk coast between Great Yarmouth and Cromer

Because their metabolism slows down during the moult and they do not eat as much, the seals stay out of the cold sea to retain body heat until their new coat has grown.

"It is common sense that there should be a minimum distance that [personal watercraft users] can come to any beach, not only to protect wildlife but also swimmers, especially children," said Peter Ansell, chairman of Friends of Horsey Seals.

"Harassing the seals in this way was a dangerous and unacceptable thing to do."

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He estimated about 5% of the spooked seals would have been pregnant common seals.

The actions of the water scooter users were "totally reckless and downright dangerous", he added.

Two water scooters were reported to have been involved in the incident, which has been reported to police

Volunteer Sally Butler said: "Forcing [the seals] into the sea at this time can be damaging to their overall health and [have an] impact [on] their long-term chances of survival.

"More importantly, when the grey seal's annual moult ends in the next few weeks, the common seal's pupping season begins, and many heavily pregnant common seals will come ashore and rest among the grey seals.

"Disturbing them at this time risks them aborting their pups."

A spokeswoman for Norfolk Police confirmed the incident had been reported to them, and officers were looking into the allegations.

The colony of seals breeds at Horsey every winter, with pups fed on the beach between the sand dunes and the North Sea