A GREY seal was saved from an agonising death in the nick of time - after he was found on the beach with a frisbee-style dog toy embedded in his neck blubber.

The incident, at Ravenscar in North Yorkshire, highlights the continuing dangers of coastal litter to marine wildlife, according to the RSPCA.

The charity was called to the scene on August 20 and discovered the seal with infected wounds where the toy had become stuck around its neck.

Animal collection officer Leanne Honess-Heather said: “We had been told that it was a small seal pup with green plastic caught round its neck, so just two of us attended the scene initially.

“But when I arrived at Ravenscar beach with seal expert Todd German from Scarborough’s Sea Life centre, we could see the grey seal was a young adult and was behaving aggressively.

"He had a frisbee dog toy stuck tight round his neck which had cut into his flesh and caused an infection.

"It was clear we would need more pairs of hands to safely rescue the stricken creature, so additional reinforcements from Sea Life arrived with a special stretcher.

“The guys were able to secure the large injured seal in the stretcher and then carefully cut the frisbee off the poor animal.

"The plastic ring had given the seal a nasty neck wound, which was cleaned then treated. We judged that the injury would now heal by itself, so we released the seal, which made a quick dash for the sea.

“I would like to thank the Sea Life guys who assisted me in their own time and did an amazing job.”

The RSPCA is called to deal with many marine animals injured by litter around Britain’s coasts and to help reduce the problem, the charity held a marine clean up weekend in the Scarborough area in July.

Staff and volunteers were shocked by how much dangerous debris they collected. Their haul included plastic bags, bottles, broken fishing nets and rope, as well as large amounts of discarded netting which the RSPCA commonly finds seals trapped in.

Such netting eventually cuts into the seal’s blubber and can cause significant injury and fatal infections.

The clean-up team also picked up a lot of discarded fishing line. Seabirds often become entangled in this and then die either from being unable to feed properly or by using it as nesting material which they and their offspring then become entangled in.

Leanne added: “We frequently see wildlife with the most appalling injuries caused by carelessly discarded litter.

"By removing this marine debris as well as encouraging others to dispose of their litter appropriately, we hope we can make a really positive impact on the welfare of wildlife around our shores.”

Anyone who sees an animal they have concerns about should contact the RSPCA’s emergency line on 0300 1234 999.

*To help the RSPCA continue rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals in desperate need of care please visit:www.rspca.org.uk/give or text LOVE to 87023 to give £3. Each text costs £3 plus one standard network rate message.