A seal has been causing a ripple of excitement around Maidstone – by popping up in the middle of the river festival.
As craft made their way along the most prominent part of the river on Saturday afternoon, watched by hundreds crowded along Maidstone Bridge, the seal’s head bobbed above the water.
Cllr Stephen Paine, who was on the North Downs Young Farmers' Club raft, said: “He has a huge head and giant puppy eyes. Apparently he’s been swimming between Farleigh and Allington locks the last fortnight.”
Tom Ward, who was on the raft named Stavros & the Argonauts - which came third - said of the seal: “He popped up right in front of our raft about five minutes into the race.”
The first sighting reported of brown Bernie, as he has been nicknamed, was on Friday by Bernie Dillon, whose house at The Mallows backs onto the River Medway close to Whatman Park. He said: It looked right at me, then dived down. I couldn’t believe it.”
Lorraine Packham snapped the seal on her camera, at East Farleigh lock on Friday. She said: “As we were coming back from the river festival, I spotted this seal lying in the sun on the river bank.
“I stood next to him while he was basking in the sun. It really made my day.”
It is not known whether Bernie is the same seal seen at Aylesford at the end of May.

For more coverage and pictures of this year's river festival, see this week's KM, out today.