Inside the seal hospital ready for a fluffy baby boom

Grey seals will soon flock to a corner of the east coast to give birth to wide-eyed, fluffy pups.

The sand dunes at Donna Nook Nature Reserve, in Lincolnshire, become a haven for newborns every November and December.

And a little further down the coast, staff at the Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary are on standby to help any pups that become injured or orphaned.

"Year on year we prepare for the worst but hope for the best," says Chloe Drew, a trustee and manager at the sanctuary.

Last year, she saw a "sure and steady intake" of pups needing help, from those separated from their mothers to other with serious injuries.

"Sometimes they try and go find their mum and will end up being attacked either by a bull seal or a different mum.

"They can come in with infected wounds and damage to the eyes.

"If the damage to the eyes is too far gone, unfortunately they wouldn't be able to be released back into the wild."

While staff at the sanctuary help rehabilitate seals all year round, they take extra measures to prepare for the season at Donna Nook.

According to Drew, this includes ordering extra boxes of smaller fish for feeding the smaller pups, and ensuring they have a "good amount" of rehydration fluid.

"We need to have lots of newspaper in and plenty of white towels, especially for the grey seals.

"When they come [in] as white coats, we need to keep them as dry as possible."

Medical interventions can be "quite costly", but the sanctuary ensures pups are given "the best care" possible, Drew adds, and the job is a "very rewarding" one.

Drew has been rehabilitating seals for more than 20 years and says there is never a "dull day".

"These seals are absolutely adorable but people need to realise they aren't as cute and fluffy as they look.

"They can be ferocious, they can give a real bad bite. People need to respect them so they can thrive in the wild."

She adds: "Donna Nook is a wonderful reserve. Please listen to the wardens, they have lots of lovely information.

"Donations can be given to them and to your local seal sanctuary as well."

Donna Nook National Nature Reserve covers more than 6 miles (10km) of coastline, between Grainthorpe Haven in the north and Saltfleet in the south, and is run by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.

The Ministry of Defence maintains part of the area as a bombing target range and the trust urges visitors to always stay within the viewing area behind the fence and strictly observe all military warnings, including red flags.

Visitors should also:

• Never feed or pet the seals
• Ensure children are accompanied at all times
• Never take dogs into the seal viewing area
• Avoid flash photography
• Be considerate when visiting and park only in designated areas
• During seal season, visit during the week if possible. At weekends, the narrow lanes, car park and viewing area get very congested.

Listen to highlights fromLincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch thelatest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Storefor iPhone and iPad orGoogle Play for Android devices.