Norfolk is currently at the mercy of 3,800 adorable baby seals

Nearly 4,000 baby seals have been spotted along a five-mile stretch of Norfolk coast.

The seal population between Waxham and Winterton attracts hordes of visitors each winter as the pups are weaned before returning to the sea.

A total of 3,796 baby seals have been born so far this winter, while 1,169 adults have been sighted.

The number is almost double that of 2019/2020 when the total number of puppies was 2,069.

Peter Ansell, Chairman of Friends of Horsey Seals said: “This is a sign of a healthy colony.

“It’s the fish that count, at the moment the North Sea provides enough fish for thousands of seals and this is a nice place for them to come ashore and breed.

“They’re very popular with visitors, which is funny because they don’t really do anything, they come ashore and flop down and every few hours the pup nudges the mother for something to eat.”

Around 50% of the world’s gray seal population resides along the British coast, with Norfolk being an important breeding area.

Visitors are asked to keep their distance and keep their dogs on a leash while the puppies are on land until around February.

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