Norfolk seal pups are casualties of Storm Arwen

Six seal pups which became separated from their mothers during Storm Arwen are being cared for at an animal hospital.

The pups, aged between 10 days and two weeks, were rescued by various volunteer organisations in the Eastern region and taken to the RSPCA's East Winch hospital in north Norfolk.

Storm Arwen battered swathes of the UK across the weekend and the charity said it expects more seal pups to be found.

They will stay in care for some months.

"Rescuers have had reports from coastlines of pups which are too young to be away from their mums," East Winch manager Evangelos Achilleos said.

"We even took in one seal pup who was found suckling on the body of a nearby larger dead pup - it's just heart-breaking."

Volunteers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) posted several seal rescues on social media over the weekend, urging people not to touch the mammals or try to get them back into the sea, but to call for expert help.

The RSPCA's Mr Achilleos, said: "People can make matters worse by trying to put these very poorly seal pups back in the water when all they want to do is catch their breath and rest on the beach - they are on the beach because they are exhausted."

He added: "We are doing all we can to accommodate what seal pups we can - and before the storm we were already caring for four grey pups and 26 common pup seals.

"Many of the seals that come into our care will be with us for some months before they are strong enough to fend for themselves and be released back to the wild."

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