A baby seal was left injured and alone after it was ‘pelted with rocks’ by yobs.
The pup, which had ‘chips missing off its side’, was rescued by a dog walker on Thursday as it lay alone on Pensarn Beach, Abergele, North Wales.
Hero David Hoyle says he was told about the stranded animal by his father-in-law who had spotted it while walking his dog around 8am.
Concerned about the seal’s safety, Mr Hoyle called the RSPCA and put it in the back of his car to wait for them.
He said: ‘I went down there and on my way we saw another guy we see walking his dog and he said that last night he had confronted a group of teenagers who were seen throwing rocks at the pup and its mum.
‘It ended in a confrontation and he told them to leave it alone.
‘When I got down there its face was bloodied and its nose was full of snot. It looked like it had chips missing off its side.
‘It was also in a lot of distress because it had been attacked so it had no trust.’
Mr Hoyle said they looked for the pup’s mother, but believed she had been ‘driven off by the youths’.
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He added: ‘Once we had got it off the beach it was sat smiling at me and it got a bit of trust. It’s so sad because it will never be reunited with its mother now. It was a proper team effort to help it.’
Tony Roberts, who runs the North Wales Canine Hydrotherapy centre in Pensarn, was also part of the group that helped save the animal.
He said it was ‘battered and bruised’, but everyone on the beach either helped or offered to help in the rescue mission.
After arriving at the scene, the RSPCA took the young seal to specialist wildlife facilities for rehabilitation and care where it’s injuries are being monitored and assessed.
A spokesman said: ‘This seal clearly needed our help and we thank those people who alerted us to its plight: anyone wishing to make more information available to us can always contact our 24-hour emergency line.’
He added: ‘Generally it’s not unusual to see a seal pup by itself, as their mothers will leave them alone very early on in life.
‘If a member of the public finds a seal pup that looks fit and healthy and shows no signs of distress, we advise monitoring first from a safe distance for 24 hours.
‘However, if the mother doesn’t return after 24 hours or the pup appears distressed, injured or unwell, or is on a busy public beach, our 24-hour emergency line can be reached on 0300 1234 999.
‘People should stay at a safe distance and keep dogs well away, as seals can have a very nasty bite.’
The incident comes weeks after reports of men being seen throwing rocks at seals in the Llandudno area.
