The carcass of a seal was mistakenly thought to have been human remains after a member of the public on the seafront of a North East beach over the weekend.
Police were spotted by beachgoers in Seaburn, Sunderland yesterday afternoon (March 3) after a member of the public reported that they believed human bones had washed up on the shore.
Images circulated on social media showed a small police cordon as officers looked over a small section of the beach.
However, despite the report being in "good faith", the bones were of a seal carcass.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “At 2pm yesterday (Sunday), we received a report in good faith of potential human bones being found on Seaburn Beach in Sunderland.
“Officers attended the scene and it was established that it was a seal carcass.”
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