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Beachgoers apparently taunted pregnant seals and forced them back into the sea while they were trying to rest.

The group came too close to the animals and started chasing them at Horsey beach in Norfolk, according to an eyewitness who confronted them.

Haylea Allison, who took photos and video of the incident, said the people ignored her requests to move away from the seals and that one man even spat at her.

She said one of the men was ‘taunting’ one seal which went back into the water, adding: ‘It’s just disgusting.’

The footage shows one seal going into the sea after a man walks up to it, crouches down and moves an arm towards it.

Friends of Horsey Seals condemned the behaviour, saying there are clear signs urging people to stay at least 10 metres away from the animals at the beach.

The wrote on Facebook: ‘This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable especially as the majority of seals on the beach are pregnant at the moment.’

They warned that seals are wild animals that come to the beach to rest and will bite if they feel threatened.

David Vyse, vice chairman of Friends of Horsey Seals, said: ‘They’re wild animals and they will bite.

‘Not only that, but they’ve come out of the water to rest and it’s anti-social behaviour when you try to push them back into the sea. It’s awful.’

He said seals ‘will bite you if they’re cornered, they will attack, their mouths are full of bacteria – you have to have a special injection and go to hospital (if a seal bites you)’.

He said that extra volunteer wardens are in place during the school holidays to talk to the public about respecting the seals.

Normally wardens are only in place during the pupping season between November and January.

‘That’s when the seals have to be protected and not disturbed because if you did disturb them the mother would disappear and the pups could be abandoned,’ Mr Vyse said.

However, after hearing stories of ‘disturbing and distressing incidents’, Friends of Horsey seals have decided to ‘mobilise our wardens for the first time ever at this time of year’.

Mr Vyse said the volunteer group didn’t want to turn people away but that beachgoers must keep a safe distance.

‘At this time of the year they’re just coming up to rest and we just want to make them have a happier life. They shouldn’t be disturbed,’ he said.

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