Man rescued after escaping 'aggressive' colony of seals

'Anyone who encounters a seal on the beach is advised to move away at the first sign of agitation,' says coastguard

The man was walking along the beach near Eyemouth when he was forced to flee (iStock)

A man has been rescued from a cliff he was forced to climb to escape a colony of aggressive seals.

The man, who has not been named, was walking along the beach near Eyemouth, Scotland, on Friday evening when he encountered approximately 50 seals and their young pups.

The seals quickly became agitated and turned aggressive when they saw him.

In a bid to escape the mammals, the man scaled a cliff face in the Scottish Borders, where he became trapped about three-quarters of the way up.

Emergency services were called to the scene at around 7.40pm after he raised the alarm, where coastguard teams and police officers used ropes to lower a rescue officer to the man.

The man was lifted to a lifeboat, supplied by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, which was waiting below.

The man was not injured but had minor cold exposure.

Coastguard teams from Dunbar, Berwick, North Berwick and Eyemouth assisted with the rescue.

Senior coastguard operations officer Jonathon Mustard said aggressive seals were not a common occurrence and that they may have been protecting their pups.

Mr Mustard said: “Anyone who encounters a seal or a colony of seals on the beach or coastline is advised to move away at the first sign of agitation.

"Aggressive seals are not a common occurrence and in this case they may have been protecting or defending their natural habitat and their young.

“Remember to take a fully charged mobile when walking on the coast and call 999 and ask for the coastguard if you get into difficulty.”