Pensioner, 72, finds 150lb seal sunning himself in her back garden – 20 miles from the nearest sea
He shore is lost: Pensioner, 72, finds 150lb seal sunning himself in her back garden – 20 miles from the nearest sea
- The wayward seal was spotted sunbathing in Anne Page’s garden in Lincolnshire
- It is thought the seal, known as Dandy Dinmont, had swum up the River Witham
- The garden is 20 miles from the nearest coastline where seal colony is situated
- It comes months after the seal stunned a paddleboarder by climbing on board
A wayward seal who found fame after hitching a ride on a paddleboard has now shown up sunbathing in a garden – more than 20 miles from the coast.
Police came to rescue notorious grey seal Dandy Dinmont after a bemused homeowner discovered her basking on her garden wall.
It comes just months after Dandy stunned a woman by clinging onto her paddleboard during a lesson.
A seal, called Dandy DInmont, was found sunbathing in the Lincolnshire garden of Anne Page
Instructor Phil May caught the rare moment on camera as he taught the beginner on the River Witham, in Boston, Lincolnshire, last September.
In her latest escapade, Dandy ventured even further inland to the village of Billinghay – 30 minutes drive from her North Sea colony.
Homeowner Anne Page was astonished to find the stray seal sunning herself in her grassy garden on Tuesday morning.
Mrs Page, 72, said: ‘I went out to water my plants in the back garden just after 7.30am and straight away I saw the seal on my patio.
‘We were just staring face to face. I put down my watering can, went back inside and then went out again as I couldn’t quite believe my eyes.’
She added: ‘We must be at least 20 or 30 miles from the sea so it was a real surprise. I had cut down the reeds at the end of my garden which allowed her to get up.
‘She must have swum all the way up the main River Witham and then into the River Skirth which is another four miles to us.’
Mrs Page’s son Rob came to the rescue after alerting a friend in the police. The 48-year-old said the seal seemed ‘very tame and quite relaxed’.
Police officer PC Martin Green (pictured with the seal) says it is ‘very rare’ he deals with them
Local police officer PC Martin Green drove to the garden and enlisted the help of an RSPCA inspector.
The pair ushered Dandy into a kennel from her resting place beneath the shade of a tree.
PC Green said: ‘I would say she weighed 60 to 70kg. It was not easy to get her into a kennel in the back of his (the inspector’s) van.
‘This is very rare. I have dealt with three seals in my 23 years of policing.’
PC Green later learned that residents had regularly spotted Dandy catching fish along the river for several months.
He said: ‘The RSPCA have received numerous reports about this seal, nicknamed Dandy, but whenever they have turned up they cannot find her.’
Dandy was then released near to a grey seal colony in the River Welland, Lincs.
The RSPCA originally found the adventurous seal at East Mersea Island in Essex before releasing her into the sea in 2017 with an orange tag.
