A RARE sight amazed onlookers when they spotted an unusual object in the River Mersey last week.

A small crowd gathered around the river, by the railway bridge near the Village Hotel, when a seal was spotted bobbing up and down in the water.

Christine and William Boyle, of Gainsborough Road, Warrington, were walking by the river when they saw a group of women gathered by the water's edge.

Christine said: "We went over to have a look and they said they had just seen a seal. We couldn't believe it so we stayed to have a look. It came up again and bobbed around - we saw it a few times before it disappeared."

Seals in the River Mersey are an extremely rare sight. Common and grey seals are the only breeds of the mammal known to inhabit UK shores. But their habitat tends to be around the British coastline rather than inland, although common seals have been known to travel up to 300km in search of food.

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