Seal ventures up River Wye to Monmouth after flooding

A seal has been spotted on the banks of the River Wye in Monmouth after torrential rain.

Water levels in the river became high after heavy rain in the area over the weekend.

The seal, who has been named "Keith" on Twitter, has been basking in the water on Tuesday after venturing about 15 miles up the river.

He has previously only been seen in Chepstow, according to Severn Area Rescue Association.

Members of the search and rescue organisation have seen the seal who executive secretary Virginia ChuChi Lyall said was "very sociable".

"We have seen quite a lot of him in Chepstow. He is a regular at the moment down there," she explained.

Debris

"But because of the rain I think he has managed to get a lot higher upstream.

"A lot of people don't believe he has made it up that high, but we have crew up there and they have seen him.

"We don't want people to go into the river and try to approach him, if he seems distressed people should call 999."

Dan Waters, who took the photos of "Keith", said: "It is still around the river, I have no idea how it got so far upstream.

"There is a lot of debris under the Wye bridge so I don't think it can get through."

The seal, which has been named "Keith" on Twitter, has previously been seen in Chepstow