TWO girls spent four hours on Redcar beach to protect a stranded baby seal from being hurt by dogs.

Sam Clark, eight, and her sister Becky, seven, from Ely Crescent, Redcar, were walking on the beach near the town's Green Lane End with their older sister, Alison, when they saw the seal and decided to keep guard over it.

Sam said: "We just watched it for a few hours and my Dad got a ground sheet and wet it and we managed to get the seal back into the water."

Becky said: "We watched it so no dogs could get it and we stopped it from getting hurt when dogs came over."

The girls stayed with the seal until 10pm last Thursday.

Heather Holmes, from the RSPCA, said: "The girls did a brilliant job. It's really great that young people have respect for animals and these girls obviously gave up a lot of their time. However, seals are often riddled with fleas and can give a nasty bite so we would not recommend touching them."

To report animals at risk, call the RSPCA on (08705) 555999.