Nearly 4,000 baby seals have been spotted on a five-mile stretch of coast in Norfolk.

The seal population between Waxham and Winterton attracts hordes of visitors each winter as the pups are weaned before they re-enter the sea.

A total of 3,796 seal pups have been born so far this winter, while 1,169 adults have been spotted.

The number is almost double the count in 2019/2020 when the total pup count was 2,069.

Peter Ansell, chairman of Friends of Horsey Seals, said: ‘It is a sign of a healthy colony.

‘It’s down to the fish, at the moment the North Sea is providing enough fish for thousands of seals and this is a nice place for them to come ashore and do their breeding.

‘They are very popular with visitors, which is funny because they don’t really do anything, they come ashore and flop down and every few hours the pup nudges the mum for a feed.’

About 50% of the world population of grey seals lives around the British coast, with Norfolk being an important breeding area.

Visitors are asked to keep at a distance and keep their dogs on a lead while the pups are ashore until about February.

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