Cornish seal saved after plastic neck ring removed

Rescuers have saved the life of a grey seal after it was found with a plastic ring stuck around its neck.

The seal had been spotted in St Ives Harbour, in Cornwall, earlier this week.

After one failed rescue attempt, experts used a seal cage to temporarily trap the animal in the harbour and cut off the ring using bolt cutters.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said the ring was "really tight" and "digging in".

Dan Jarvis, from BDMLR, said teams think the ring had only been on the seal "for a few days at most".

The seal had been catalogued by the Seal Research Trust in 2003 and given the name Wings.

Mr Jarvis said: "We were all on tenterhooks waiting for the right moment, as it was critical that we didn't spook her by charging in too soon as if we lost her back into the harbour then we might not get another chance to try this.

"Luckily, she relaxed and gave us the time we needed to rush in and block off the entrance, which was very difficult to maintain given the strong current washing in and out of the tunnel despite being just under waist depth, and we needed quite a few of us to brace against the boards to maintain the blockade.

"It was really tight especially around her throat where it's softer and really digging in," he said.

"There was no way we would've just been able to pull it off so we had to use bolt cutters to snip it but luckily there's no injury."

Tamara Cooper, curator for the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, said "we all know how dangerous plastic waste can be for our marine wildlife, but this is just one example of how our local seals can face life or death situations".

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Seal at risk from plastic neck ring, say experts

British Divers Marine Life Rescue

Cornish Seal Sanctuary