Seal with frisbee on neck at Newburgh sparks rescue effort

The seal has been photographed at Newburgh

A rescue effort is to be made after a seal was seen in Aberdeenshire with its neck trapped through a frisbee.

It is thought the seal at Newburgh could have had the toy with a hole around its neck for months.

Lee Watson, of Ythan Seal Watch and British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said it could start to restrict feeding as it got tighter, or cause infection.

He said a rescue would have to wait for when it was alone and not too close to the water's edge.

Mr Watson said the bright frisbee had caught the attention of people who had then reported it.

He told BBC Scotland News: "Seals tend to be inquisitive. The frisbee might not necessarily have come from Newburgh, it have have been in the sea.

"It must have been on it a few months, when it was smaller, they then feed and grow.

"Salt water cleans the wound but the danger is when it goes through the blubber into the flesh."

He said they had to try not to disturb other seals in the area with any rescue effort for the seal, which could be about two years old.

"We have to wait for the right time", he said.