Warning issued after Devon seal found with fish hooks embedded in her face

A well-known grey seal has been spotted off the south Devon coast with fish hooks embedded in her skin.

The Seal Project, a Brixham charity, posted distressing images on its social media site, revealing how the seal, who is known locally as Sammy, had anglers' hooks on her body.

The post, published on Sunday 28 May, revealed that the "well-known adult female seal" had one "directly above her right eye".

There were others embedded along her body and one was even trailing a fish head that had caught on a hook further down the line.

They wrote: "These will come out by themselves and there is nothing we can do as either BDMLR [British Divers Marine Life Rescue] Marine Mammal Medics or as The Seal Project to help her. As an adult seal these just have to come out by themselves.

"She is the second seal seen in a week within Brixham, caught in angling lines.

"Those we spoke to this evening were very respectful, and in awe of these amazing creatures, but not everyone appreciates that these creatures deserve our respect and that refraining from angling around them, and refraining from feeding them is key to preventing issues like this."