A seal pup rescued from Margate beach last autumn has made a full recovery and is now back exploring in the sea.

Dolly was taken into the care of British Divers Marine Life Rescue team and, despite being stranded alone, she was deemed to be in good health and well hydrated.

The youngster, who weighed in at 12kg, was transferred to an RSPCA base near Hastings where she built up strength.

She had to overcome a nasty eye infection which she sustained in an outdoor training pool by having a long course of medicated eye drops, antibiotics and pain relief.

Fortunately the infection was cleared up and Dolly's big release back into the sea came last week.

Weighing a hefty and healthy 38.8kg, she made waddled her way into wild waters off the coast at Fairlight, over the border in East Sussex.

A spokesman for the RSPCA Mallydams Wood Wildlife Centre, where Dolly was cared for, said: “We are delighted after months of care at our centre, we were able to release her back to the wild on January 12.

"No matter how many times we release a seal we never get tired of watching them make their break for freedom back to the wild, it’s always so lovely to see.”

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