A starving seal rescued after teenagers used it as a prop while posing for selfies has been released back into the wild in Whitley Bay.
Back in July, Stanley the seal was just skin and bones. Weighing just 8kg, he had to be admitted to Tynemouth Seal Hospital in order to be nursed back to health.
However Stanley's story had a happy ending on Saturday after a huge crowd gathered to watch him and another seal - Wallace - make a long-awaited return to the North Sea.
ChronicleLive was there to capture the moving moment the creatures crawled towards the icy water off St Mary's Island.
For the staff who helped nurse them back to health, it was a day of mixed emotions.
"Everyone does get a bit attached to the seals, especially when they come in the hospital so small," said Tynemouth Aquarium displays supervisor Sussanah Lovick-Earle.
"So when they do leave us it is emotional - some of the volunteers cry!"
But ultimately it was a very happy ending after the duo were rescued in heartbreaking circumstances.
In Stanley's case, he was not only dangerously underweight with an infection around his mouth, but he also suffered the "horrendous" ordeal of being passed around for selfies by the youths.
Eventually he was rescued from Blackhall Rocks, in County Durham, by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR).
And poor Wallace wouldn't have been able to survive if it wasn't for BDMLR's Marine Mammal Medics team, as well as the help he received from staff at the Tynemouth Aquarium.
He was rescued from Northumberland, and was so skinny he would not have been unable to survive in the wild.
But both have been fed well over the summer, and were around 25-30kg when they were released back into the sea.
According to Sussannah, they don't need to be quite so heavy to survive. However the extra weight will help them as they get used again to the wild.
And with temperatures dropping to almost freezing on Saturday, it seems the pair took some persuading to actually dip their flippers into the sea.
"I was a bit unsure they wanted to go back into the cold North Sea," admitted Sussanah.
"They really did need a bit of encouragement - but they got there in the end."
