A young seal is to be put down after being found unwell on Whitley Bay beach.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue were alerted to a young adult male grey seal which wasn't reacting normally to disturbance on Saturday morning.
Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade were called out to assist in rescuing the very unwell seal, who was extremely underweight.
Medics were also at the scene at the north end of Whitley Bay beach attempting to provide care for the seal, which evaded the team and headed back out to sea.
A veterinary team has made the decision that the kindest thing to do for the seal is to have it euthanised due to the fact it doesn't appear to be active or feeding and will not survive alone in the wild.
Members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue remain at the beach on Sunday in a bid to capture the seal.
Richard Ilderton, North East regional coordinator of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said: "This is an animal which is sadly suffering. While we as a charity will do all we can to save an animal, locally working with Blue Reef in their facility rehabilitating seal pups with great success, sometimes it is kinder to stop the animals suffering.
"This seal is sluggish in the water and is not responding well.
"It has lost a huge amount of weight and its ribcage is now visible.
"A vet assessed it yesterday, making the sad decision that it would be kinder to have it euthanised because it isn't going to stand a chance of surviving in the wild.
"Our team are back out today (Sunday) as it has come back to shore and we are working with Northumbria Police to come up with a plan for it."
Sunshine is here to stay with highs of 18C expected in the North East this week
