Keith the seal spotted in Stourport

The wayward animal, which is in fact female, was seen making a splash in the water at Lincomb Lock by resident Nicky Hemming on Monday morning.

The last sighting of the celebrity seal was believed to have been in Worcester at the beginning of last month when it made a comeback after seven months of no sightings.

It now seems to have returned to Wyre Forest after first making an appearance in the district in January.

Mrs Hemming, whose son Luke also snapped Keith in Stourport Marina earlier this year, said she got a shock when she saw the seal sat on the pontoon behind her boat at about 8.30am.

“My husband had just come back from walking the dog and when [Keith] saw us he went into the water but just sat with his head poking out for a couple of minutes,” Mrs Hemming said.

“He then disappeared and came out the other end of the boat and carried on up the river.

“We walked up and he was by the side half out on the riverbank. He spent about 20 minutes watching us, coming out then changing his mind before heading off up river again. We waited a bit longer but he disappeared.”

She added: “We were very surprised to see him because he hasn’t been seen for a while. It was quite a shock.”

The seal was first seen in the Wyre Forest area on New Years Day when he was spotted in the River Severn in Bewdley and caused a stir in the local media.

He was then spotted at Stourport Marina before swimming back to Bewdley days later.

Keith was first spotted by river users in Upton-upon-Severn last November and a facebook page was set up by wildlife lovers for Keith fans to share sightings of the seal.

It is thought the seal travels up the river in search of salmon but it has angered local anglers who blamed it for affecting fish stocks.

Calls were made to shoot the seal as a last result but Keith fans launched a petition to save it. A Save Keith the Seal facebook page was also set up, which has more then 3,000 likes.