A SEASONED ‘seal expert’ had a pleasant surprise recently, when he spotted a grey seal stranded on rocks near Little Haven.

Terry Leadbetter, of Welsh Marine Life Rescue, found the animal perched on the pebbles on Monday, March 3.

The young adult female, which measured around a metre-and-a-half in length, was thought to have washed up in strong waves.

Terry said the species’ usual habitat is Scotland and the east coast of England.

“It’s unusual to find them in Wales, we’ve only seen about four in the last 20 years,” he said.

“Grey seals are a lot smaller and a lot prettier than the usual common or harbour seals we get.”

Together with his wife Ann and volunteer John Beavis, Terry helped relocate the animal to Dale, where it swam off safely.

Until its closure earlier this year, Terry and Ann ran the Pembrokeshire Seal Hospital at Milford Docks, which helped rehabilitate hundreds of lost or abandoned seals.