Family spot seal in River Colne in Colchester

Lisa Maria Kirwan, 32, was on a stroll with her daughter Molly, six, and son Paddy, three, when they spotted the seal close to the Hythe in Colchester.

The seal, which was miles from the sea, then proceeded to follow the family up the river to their home near East Hill.

Lisa Maria, who works in HR, said: “I had gone out for a walk with my partner and the children.

“We were at the bridge by Hythe train station and were looking over the edge and the kids spotted a seal.

“We started walking home along a path which follows the river and as we were walking the seal was swimming along with us.

“Then as we were nearly home we saw it had a fish.

“It was so cute and a pick me up to see it in lockdown.”

Despite their delight at the sighting, a concerned Lisa Maria called the RSPCA as the seal was so far from the sea.

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She added: “They said when the tide changes the seal should find its way back.

“I didn’t want it to be lost but we know it had food as there is fish in the river.

Lisa Maria Kirwan with Molly and Paddy

“Over the last few months we have had unusually high water levels.

“We don’t normally get that much water this side of the weir.”

Seals usually spend most of their time out at sea feeding on fish.

They return to land to rest and can often be seen lying on north Essex beaches.

But some can end up swimming up waterways and rivers and find themselves in more built up areas.

There have been other occasions where seals have been spotted in the River Colne as far up as near East Hill.

In the summer residents became concerned after spotting a seal pup on mud bank in the river near Wivenhoe.

The young animal was spotted by dozens of people in the sludge off the Ferry Marsh Trail. The determined seal pup eventually made it back to the water.