Shock as seal spotted in River Severn at Stourport Marina
With their twitching noses and bristling whiskers, seals are usually spotted bobbing up and down off the coast.
But one seal, nicknamed Bob, has caused quite a stir with onlookers after being seen in the River Severn at Stourport Marina.
It is believed the seal washed up river from the Bristol Channel searching for salmon that tried to escape choppy waters.
With water levels rising in Stourport and Bewdley, the seal was able to swim over swollen weirs to reach the marina.
He was spotted trying to catch pike and salmon by startled staff from the marina as they arrived for work yesterday. Luke Hemming, aged 23, saw Bob's head breaking the surface of the water about 10ft from the banks of the marina.
"I was amazed as in all the years I've worked down here I've never seen a seal," he said. "With the river water levels high and flowing rapidly, I suppose it came into the marina because of the still waters where the salmon would be. I called him Bob because he kept bobbing up and down."
