Yahoo News 'There's a seal on my doorstep!': Misplaced mammal sparks rescue mission
Teessiders have opened their front door to some odd sights over the years - but this is surely a first.
A seal was spotted on the steps of Redcar's Royal Esplanade Apartments on Thursday morning.
It sparked an RNLI rescue mission to get the pup back into the North Sea.
The operation involved everything from a dog cage and some "cautious coaxing" to get it back in.
Thankfully, it worked.
"While we were assembling to carry out a lifeboat changeover this morning, one of our crew was alerted to a seal sheltering in the doorway of the Royal Apartments on the sea front," Redcar RNLI wrote on Facebook.
"Having alerted the rescue service we were working out how to get the pup back to the water when an off duty coastguard officer who runs a local pet shop drove past in a van. And in the van was a dog cage.
"A bit of cautious coaxing got the seal into the cage and it was soon reunited with the North Sea."
And a video posted by the charity shows the heartwarming moment the "happy" pup made it back into those freezing waters.
The volunteers were praised on Facebook for their "brilliant" work in rescuing the seal.
