TWO young seals have been nursed back to health and have been released back into the sea six weeks after being rescued.

Chester and Sinead made their way back to the North Sea following their stay at Blue Reef Aquarium in Tynemouth.

They were taken in by the Marine Rescue Centre at the aquarium in August.

The team has been caring for the seals, which have now recovered from their injuries and are back up to a healthy weight.

Chester was eight weeks old when he was brought in by the RSPCA from a beach in North Yorkshire.

He was underweight and had swelling to his mouth caused by an infection.

The second seal, a slightly younger female called Sinead, was found by the old swimming pool on Longsands with similar injuries.

Terry McKeone, displays supervisor at Blue Reef Tynemouth, said: “We have had these two with us for a while now, so it is great to finally see them well enough to be released back into the wild.

“We hope seeing this makes members of the public aware of our amazing local wildlife and how we have an impact on our environment.”

The seals are both fit enough to fend for themselves and were released into the North Sea at Seaton Sluice.

The aquarium has rescued more than 200 seals in the last ten years.