This poor seal was found by a walker on the riverside en route to Richmond.

Jan Louw walks from Teddington to Richmond every day and this morning (Tuesday, July 28) came across the

He said the seal was lying around five-10 minutes' walk on the way from Teddington Lock to Richmond and on the river side under a tree about 1.5m from the path.

"How sad. Found along Teddington tow path. Poor seal," Mr Louw posted on Twitter.

Seals are spotted increasingly regularly in the Thames.

The Port of London Authority said: "With cleaner waters we are fortunate to welcome more marine mammals to the Thames.

"Marine mammals that visit the Thames regularly are grey seals, harbour seals and porpoises."

Last year an annual count by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) found 1,104 harbour seals and 2,406 grey seals living in the river.

It runs an interactive seal spotting map which you can check out here.

It is unclear how this particular seal became washed up and died.

If you see a seal on land that appears to be stranded and unable to get back into the water, call the Zoological Society on 0800 652 0333.

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