A washed up seal pup missing its head was found along the Norfolk coastline. 

The gruesome discovery was made as people enjoyed a walk along Great Yarmouth seafront on Sunday, December 1.

The discoverer of the headless body said: "We were walking along the shoreline around where the Venetian water park boating lake ends when we saw a bird picking at some kind of large mass.

"After getting closer we saw that it was a seal pup which was missing its head."

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Experts believe the pup may have been killed by a seal bull during its mating attempts.

Regional Sea Watch Foundation coordinator Carl Chapman said: "The bulls turn up on the beaches with the females because after the cows give birth they are then ready to mate again.

"If a small pup gets in the way they are just despatched by picking them up by the head and shaking them."

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue group has been notified and has started an investigation into what may have caused the pup's death.