The start of October was a busy time for the Welsh Marine Life Rescue team, as high tides and strong winds left lost seal pups stranded on the the county’s coast.

In 24 hours, after dozens of calls from the public, 200 miles of driving and one broken quad bike, the team managed to track down and save eight distressed baby seals which had been separated from their mothers and stranded on land.

One of them - named Nicky by the rescuers - was found on the road at Nolton Haven. The pup had managed to drag itself onto the tarmac and a passing driver alerted the rescue centre. As the pup’s umbilical cord was attached for two days afterwards, the team calculated that Nicky was only two days old when found.

Storms with strong north-westerly winds, seven-metre tides and the pupping season combined on the first Friday of the month to separate an unusually large number of baby seals from their mothers, dumping them on north Pembrokeshire beaches.

With no way to feed and only a small amount of fat reserves, the animals, all under three weeks old, would have died if they had not been picked up and brought to the Seal Hospital on Milford Haven docks.

Terry Ledbetter, who runs the rescue centre, said the seals would now be fattened up for six to eight weeks, then released back into the wild.

“They look placid now, but they fight like tigers when they’re being fed,” he told the Western Telegraph.

“They usually come in in fits and starts so to have so many was a blow to the system.

“It was one of the busiest days for a long time.”

Requiring expensive antibiotics, constant care and eating up to 120 mackerel a day, the pups cost around £500 each to care for, and as a registered charity Welsh Marine Life Rescue welcomes donations.

If you think you have found an injured or sick seal contact 01646 692943 or 07970 285086.