Storms bring flood of injured seal pups

And it is braced for many more if Britain is hit by severe winter storms this year.

Its four rescue centres are now caring for 65 grey and common seals compared with just 14 this time last year.

Two RSPCA centres – Stapeley Grange in Nantwich, Cheshire, and Mallydams Wood, in Hastings, East Sussex – are already full while West Hatch, in Taunton, Somerset, is close to capacity.

Only East Winch in Norfolk has room to spare.

Stormy weather last month, including the tail of Hurricane Gonzalo, left many seal pups abandoned or injured.

Last December a tidal surge on the Norfolk coast left 108 injured or stranded pups in RSPCA care. Over the winter, its four centres looked after a record 273.

But the figures for October have set a new high and, with the pupping season just under way, the numbers are expected to increase.

The manager at RSPCA East Winch, Alison Charles, said: “If we experience the same kind of storm battering we did last year, then it will be tough.

“The 108 pups we had in really stretched us because they require a lot of intensive care.

"We couldn’t have managed without the staff and volunteers’ goodwill, doing extra shifts to make sure the pups were fed.

"They were vital.

“The rehabilitation of seal pups is a real marathon.

"It can take months for them to become fighting fit, strong and healthy enough to be released back into the wild.

“Space really was at a premium last year and our existing cubicles were having to house four or five seals rather than the usual two.”

She added: “Other animals were having to take up residence in other areas of the hospital in makeshift pens.

“We had swans in the operating theatre and hedgehogs in the visitor centre. There were animals everywhere.”

The RSPCA said it was costing them £22 a week to feed each seal, continuing over many months before they were ready to be returned to the sea.

• To help the RSPCA please text RESCUE to 84010 to donate £3. (Texts cost £3 plus one standard network rate message.)