Seal of approval Mumbles South West Division Mumbles lifeboatmen took part in an unusual rescue in July when they saved a seal from an early grave by freeing it from a fishing net.

The old seal, which is well known in the area and sometimes has to be shooed off the lifeboat slip before a launch, was spotted in distress by coxswain Alan Jones from the window of his home.

The seal's claws had become tangled in a net near the lifeboat station, but the coxswain and a few of the crew put out in the D class inflatable and their prompt action in cutting it free saved it from almost certain death.

Station Honorary Secretary Captain Roy Griffiths said 'He's quite a character down here, and the crew wanted to do what they could to help'..