This is the moment a seal was released back into the wild - after being found entangled in netting and nursed back to health.

Volunteers for charity Friends of Horsey Seals found the helpless sea mammal on a beach in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk on April 8.

They rescued the seal, who they later named Esmeralda, and brought her to the RSPCA's East Winch Wildlife Centre near King's Lynn.

There, staff spent "hundreds of hours" caring for her and nursing her back to health - before she was finally released back into the North Sea last week (26/05).

In the video, RSPCA staff can be seen walking closely behind Esmeralda as she shuffles across the sand.

She then takes a quick look back at those who looked after her, before disappearing off into the sea.

Staff at the RSPCA centre near King's Lynn care for dozens of injured seals every year - many who have been tangled up in fishing nets or choked by plastic rings and frisbees.

Grey seal numbers in the UK dropped as low as 500 in the early 20th century, but there are now estimated to be around 120,000.