A DARING cliffside rescue was launched when a desperately-ill seal pup was spotted on an inaccessible beach at the foot of steep cliffs.

The six-month-old grey seal pup was found sorrowfully wailing at a remote cove near Godrevy Point in St Ives Bay by members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue organisation.

The National Seal Sanctuary was alerted and care worker Dan Jarvis volunteered to scale the cliffs to rescue the pup.

"It was a completely enclosed cove and there was no path down," said Laura Ward, of the Gweek-based centre.

"There was a bit of a beach at the bottom, but no way to get to it. The seal pup was obviously in distress and the only way to get to it was to abseil."

Mr Jarvis, an experienced animal care worker, not only had to get himself down safely, he also had to lower a cage to transport the injured pup.

"It was quite a difficult job. He had to abseil down the cliff along with the cage and then get himself and a six-month-old seal pup weighing about 30kg back up," said Miss Ward.

When he did reach the pup, he found her in a very sorry state.

She had obviously become tangled up in fishing net some months ago and it had become tighter as she grew.

"We've seen this same sort of injury a few times before," said Mr Jarvis.

"She obviously got the netting caught round her neck when she was very young, and as she's grown it's gradually scythed deeper and deeper into her skin."

The pup, whose sad, loud wailing earned her the name Myrtle, after the notorious ghost Moaning Myrtle from the Harry Potter series, was becoming even more distressed even though help was at hand.

"She was making a terrible noise. She's a wild animal and Dan was a stranger and a human and she just didn't like it," said Miss Ward.

"She was getting really worked up. We were trying to help, but she didn't know that."

Fortunately, Mr Jarvis was able to get Myrtle into the cage and it was raised slowly from the beach.

Myrtle was then taken to the National Seal Sanctuary where the tough plastic netting was removed by experts.

"It had gone completely round her neck," said Miss Ward. "It must have happened five or six months ago and as she grew it was just getting tighter and tighter and gradually strangling her.

"I think we managed to remove it in the nick of time."