Two young grey seal pups that washed up in Jersey last week have been successfully transferred to a wildlife hospital in Essex.

South Essex Wildlife Hospital is one of only a handful of places in the UK that is equipped for the long-term rehabilitation of seals.

The seals rescued in Jersey last week were transferred to the facility after it emerged that nowhere in the Channel Islands could accommodate them long-term.

Picture: One of the two young grey seal pups that washed up in Jersey last week and have been transferred to South Essex Wildlife Hospital.

This is the third time that South Essex Wildlife Hospital has been asked to take on seals from Jersey.

The previous two transfers proceeded “relatively smoothly”, but this rescue “proved quite a tricky one for all involved”.

Fog and high crosswinds delayed take-off, but a weather window opened on Thursday 13 November.

Picture: The pups were greeted at the airport by South Essex Wildlife Hospital staff.

Civil Air Support provided planes and pilots free-of-charge to fly the seals into London Southend Jet Centre, which waived the landing fees.

The pups were greeted at the airport by South Essex Wildlife Hospital staff member Lawrie and lead vet Tom, who gave them a health check before they were transferred into the animal ambulance.

After reaching the centre, the seals were moved into the specialist seal rehabilitation unit for assessment, rehydration, pain relief and feeding.

Both seals are underweight, and one has a number of wounds, but both remain “bright” and are responding “perfectly” to treatment.

A spokesperson for South Essex Wildlife Hospital said: “We are overjoyed at their progress so far and would like to say a big thank you to all involved.

“None of this would have been possible without their immense efforts and we will do our best from here to get these two seals fit for release back to the wild.”