A fundraiser for a new seal hospital in mid-Cornwall made a splash on Saturday as volunteers swam 28km from Truro to Falmouth.

The fundraiser had been organised by volunteers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and involved a team of people swimming from Truro, down the Fal Estuary and around to the Falmouth seafront.

The fundraiser's target was to raise £30,000 via the event and, thanks to numerous donations, the organisation achieved its target.

The distance was based on 200m for every seal pup admitted to the BDMLR's existing facility this winter, which came to a near-record 139 seal pups.

All the funds raised at the event will now go towards the equipment for the new hospital.

The location for the new facility has yet to be announced, but will be somewhere in mid-Cornwall.

A spokesperson for the BDLMR said: "The old/current hospital was in mid Cornwall and the new purpose build hospital will be in mid Cornwall too.

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"The new build will be better equipped to house more seal pups until there is space at rehab centres such as Cornwall Seal Sanctuary and RSPCA Westhatch where the pup can continue with ongoing care before being released back into the wild."

Seals are a common sight among the Cornish coast, and that means marine rescue volunteers are often called out when the so-called 'dogs of the sea' come into trouble.

One recent example of a seal needing assistance was when 'Hattie,' a four year old seal pup became lodged between boulders at Land's End three weeks ago.

After being rescued and taken to British Diver's Marine Life Rescue's (BDMLR) Cornwall Seal Pup Hospital, it emerged the seal was only four and a half years old and had been living with the fishing net around her neck for around three years.

Hattie had a severe cut around her neck, the deepest part of which reached around 4cm and was extremely malnourished, possibly suffering from organ dysfunction from her time spent stuck.

Unfortunately, Hattie had to be put down due to the severity of her injuries.

The rescue team had planned on moving her on to Cornwall Seal Sanctuary after her recovery, however, this plan was put on hold once the severity of Hattie's issues came to light.