AN animal sanctuary found itself looking after a bad-tempered, one-eyed baby seal which was discovered on the Walton Backwaters.

The injured pup was reported to Walton boat trip operator Tony Haggis who took it to Wildlives animal centre in Thorrington. He had to hold down the grey seal so sanctuary boss Rosie Catford could force feed it using a tube.

Rosie said: “Despite being only about three weeks old he was 23.5kg of solidly-muscled, aggressive, slippery, bad-tempered seal.

“His left eye was missing and the wound infected.

“He also had injuries inside his mouth and extensive injuries to the side of his jaw.”

The centre managed to rehydrate the seal and regulate his body temperature.

His eye and wounds were cleaned and he was put on a course of antibiotics to treat the infection.

The seal has now been transferred to the RSPCA’s Mallydams Wood rehabilitation centre in Hastings, Kent, where it is recovering before it is released.