A seal that was rescued after becoming stuck at Land's End has unfortunately been put to sleep.

The seal, named Hattie, had become wedged between between boulders at Gwynver Beach and was also entangled in discarded fishing net.

Falmouth Packet: The seal, named Hattie, had become wedged between between boulders at Gwynver Beach and was also entangled in discarded fishing net. Picture: SWNSThe seal, named Hattie, had become wedged between between boulders at Gwynver Beach and was also entangled in discarded fishing net. Picture: SWNS

After being rescued and taken to British Diver's Marine Life Rescue's (BDMLR) Cornwall Seal Pup Hospital, it emerged the seal was only four and a half years old and had been living with the fishing net around her neck for around three years.

Hattie had a severe cut around her neck, the deepest part of which reached around 4cm and was extremely malnourished, possibly suffering from organ dysfunction from her time spent stuck.

In a statement on the organisations Facebook page on Saturday, BDMLR said: "I’m afraid we have to give you all some very sad news about Hattie.

"Yesterday we became very concerned about Hattie as her condition had rapidly deteriorated.

"She was showing signs of a more complex, underlying illness going on and some blood tests revealed that she was likely to be suffering from some major organ dysfunction.

Falmouth Packet: Hattie had a large gash around her neck from the fishing net she had been entangled in, the deepest part of which was four cm. Picture: SWNSHattie had a large gash around her neck from the fishing net she had been entangled in, the deepest part of which was four cm. Picture: SWNS

"Hattie’s quality of life was declining, and her chances of recovery from such a major illness and eventual release back into the wild were extremely slim.

"With all this in mind, we decided to let her pass away peacefully and with dignity last night, as our vet came out to put her to sleep.

"As you can imagine, this was a heartbreaking decision for our team who have worked so hard over the past nine days to give her the very best care.

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"But as with all our important decisions, our patients welfare and best interests must always be the top priority.

"We are comforted at least by the fact that her final days were in an environment where she was safe and well cared for.

"She was a very special seal, and one which I’m sure we will all remember.

Falmouth Packet: The team had planned to take Hattie to the Cornwall Seal Sanctuary but, unfortunately, her condition was dramatically deteriorating. Picture: SWNS The team had planned to take Hattie to the Cornwall Seal Sanctuary but, unfortunately, her condition was dramatically deteriorating. Picture: SWNS

"Later today a postmortem will be carried out and we hope that will give us some more information about the illness Hattie was suffering from and whether it was perhaps a result of her long term entanglement.

"A huge thank you to everyone who has been involved with Hattie’s rescue and care, as well as to everyone who has been following her progress on here.

"We really appreciate your ongoing support of our work, particularly at very difficult times like this.

"In the world of wildlife rehabilitation, we unfortunately can’t save every animal we are presented with but we will always endeavour to do the right thing for each of them."

Members of BDMLR joined around seven members of the coastguard in the rescue operation, which followed on from three years of searching for Hattie to free her from the fishing net.

The team had planned on moving her on to Cornwall Seal Sanctuary after her recovery, however, this plan was put on hold once the severity of Hattie's issues came to light.