THE Angling Trust has announced it will not pursue a licence to have Keith the seal shot but will work with divers to relocate it.

An agreement has been made between the British Divers Marine Life Rescue Service (BDLRS) and the Angling Trust to relocate Keith back to the sea.

The Angling Trust made the announcement on their Facebook page last night, which claims that recent drops in river levels have improved the prospects of the animal being rescued or for it to go back to the sea on its own accord.

Alan Knight, chairman of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said: "They [the Angling Trust] have followed up on all the suggestions we have made about finding a solution that would get the seal back out to sea where it belongs, unharmed.

“We understand the approach they have taken to try to manage this situation on behalf of the angling community and their concern for freshwater fish stocks in the Severn.

“However, it's great that we will now be working together to find a safe and humane solution to prevent this, and other seals, becoming stranded, injured or worse."

Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust said: "We are looking forward to our new partnership with the BDMLR, who are the top experts in this field, and to work with the angling community to rescue Keith who must be very bewildered with all the media attention and crowds.

“In the meantime we are calling on the public not to feed this or any other seal that ventures into freshwater. It only makes matters worse and hinders attempts at relocation."

The BDLRS will need to track the seal’s progress in order to try and rescue it.

Anglers are being asked to report sightings on the middle and lower Severn to seal@anglingtrust.net