Walton beach dead seal causing concern among residents

The seal is on Walton beach, just one bay up from the Fisherman's Café, with residents claiming it has been there for more than three weeks.

Neil Marples, from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said the seal was first washed ashore on October 21 near the pier before the tide washed it up the coast a day later.

Beached - a censored image of the seal on the beach (Image: Neil Marples) He said: "It’s disgusting that the seal is still rotting away on the beach.

"I think Tendring Council were hoping it would get washed back out to sea, however, the tide heights fell and it’s been stranded there since.

"It’s only six inches from the sea wall and 30 inches from a slope to the beach, but Tendring Council says they are having difficulties trying to arrange for it to be moved."

Content warning: Please be advised there will be an uncensored image of the seal on the beach at the end of this article. 

Mr Marples continued: "The council did have a whale washed up in Holland-on-Sea beach on October 22 but managed to remove that on October 25 with a JCB digger that was working on cliff repairs.

"Unfortunately we’ve had another seal and three porpoises washed up dead and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue have helped Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme remove them as they were fresh for autopsy purposes, but the rescue team has no way of disposing of dead seal bodies.

"It’s the responsibility of the council under their public health responsibilities."

Mr Marples says the council has waited too long to move the seal and it is now in a bad condition.

He said: "If they had moved it on the 21st or 22nd it wasn’t in too bad of a condition.

"But now it’s a mess - decomposing, rotting away and smelly and has been right next to the promenade over the half term week with hundreds of people complaining about it."

Left - the seal's corpse in Walton (Image: Neil Marples)

A spokesman for Tendring District Council said: “The council endeavours to remove dead seals from its beaches as quickly as possible, and indeed has already done so on a number of occasions this season.

“Unfortunately in this particular case, the location of the mammal and its size mean clearing it is not a simple matter.

“Officers, working with our contractors, have to consider how to get adequate machinery on site, the health and safety risk to staff, and how to dispose of it.

“Our staff are continuing to explore options to deal with this issue. In the meantime residents are reminded to avoid the body, which is there as a result of natural processes.”