A seal pup has been rescued from a beach.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) medics were called out to Deal yesterday, after the animal, which is only a few days old, was found injured

The white-coated pup had an ulcerated eye, a damaged flipper and was too young and skinny to survive alone, even if uninjured.

He was subsequently taken to Mallydams Wood RSPCA for treatment and recovery.

Marine mammal volunteer medics Alex Levine and Cam Molland helped the seal to safety.

Ms Levine says: “I got my kit together and headed to the location where I could immediately see a small whitecoat pup lying motionless on the shingle.”

“I spoke with a guy who was fixing the concrete seats, he had been there since 6:30am and the pup was there when he arrived, no sign of mum anywhere.”

“The pup was observed from a safe distance, photos were taken and sent back to HQ. I was advised that the pup needed to be picked up due to his poorly condition and a place for it would be held at the rehabilitation centre.”

The medic of 17 years says seals can carry all sorts of bacteria and grey seals are feisty even when small, and she wore protective clothing to pick the pup up. After her colleague arrived, the mammal was transferred to the rehab centre.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA said the pup has been named Macaroni by staff, in keeping with the “pasta theme for seal names this season”.

“He is still a whitecoat, just starting to moult, so is around 3-4 weeks old. However, he is very thin, weighing only 12kg.

“He has an injured eye so was brought to us immediately for assessment. He has quite a severe ulcer of the left eye as well as infected wounds on his front and rear flippers. These are possibly due to bites from other seals as he would have been approaching other adults in search of his mum.

“He is receiving pain medication, antibiotics and medicated eye drops to treat the eye ulcer. It is still a guarded prognosis, but he is having veterinary checks daily. He is not eating for himself yet so is being tube-fed a fish soup mixture five times a day.”

Following this rescue, a BDMLR spokesperson is urging anyone who sees a stranded seal, dolphin, porpoise or whale to call medics on 01825 765 546.

An accurate description should be given of the animal, people and dogs should be kept away and noise should be kept to a minimum until help arrives.

People should not attempt to move or drag the animal as this could harm and distress them, and they may bite.