Seal known as Mrs Vicar rescued after white plastic ring stuck on neck for years

Mrs Vicar was finally captured at Horsey Beach on Easter Sunday

A seal that had a plastic white disc stuck around her neck and was nicknamed Mrs Vicar has been rescued.

The mammal was first spotted with the object lodged on her two and a half years ago off the Norfolk coast.

Mrs Vicar was finally captured at Horsey Beach on Easter Sunday and has a 7cm deep wound that has become infected.

A vet cut the disc off the adult grey seal at the RSPCA’s East Winch Wildlife Centre near King’s Lynn where Mrs Vicar is recovering.

Alison Charles, manager at RSPCA East Winch, said: “Sadly, we know the seal had the ring around her neck for over two years! I’m so grateful she’s now been rescued and we can care for her.

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“She is very quiet this morning and her wound is very sore with a bad smell but we are hopeful she will recover.

“We can start giving her the salty baths she needs to help her neck wound recover soon.

“We add two 25kg bags of salt to each bath and she has one bath a day until her neck has begun to granulate.

“This is the healing process when you cannot debride (remove damaged tissue) and stitch a wound. It’s so infuriating knowing that this injury could have been prevented.

Mrs Vicar is now recovering after having the plastic disc cut off (PA)

“All we can do now is hope that Mrs Vicar is strong enough to pull through. Even if she makes it through the next few days, we are not out of the woods, and we will be treating her for a number of months.”

Mrs Vicar has been injected with antibiotics and pain relief and allowed to rest. Discs can become caught around the marine mammals’ necks, then cut into them as they grow bigger.

Peter Ansell, chairman of the Friends of Horsey Seals volunteer group, said members were finally able to capture Mrs Vicar on Sunday.

“Mrs Vicar was so called by us due to the prominent white plastic collar around her neck, which has turned out to be some type of flange possibly used in large scale pipework,” he said.

Mr Ansell added that after Mrs Vicar has recovered she will be returned to the sea.

The East Winch Wildlife Centre has launched a fundraising campaign to help pay for fish to feed the sick, orphaned and injured seals in their care.

The centre cares for more than 150 seals each year and the cost of mackerel to feed them is rising, costing the charity £3,999 for three pallets of mackerel.

Additional reporting by PA