This is the moment a tuckered seal pup swam to shore and mingled with fisherman on the Dungeness shingle.

When Darren Wood, 46, of Dymchurch Road, New Romney, took his neighbour’s young boys fishing they hoped to hook a bounty of bass and sea bream on Thursday evening.

To the trio’s disbelief, they were greeted by this furry fellow taking a moment’s rest from the choppy waters.

Mr Wood, who works in printing, said: “I fish down there quite often, and you do see seals bobbing around in the water now and again.

“We had been fishing for about an hour and we saw him bobbing around out there, he was a young one, only small.

“The water was very choppy that day, then it just popped up about 6-foot away and took a rest for 45-minutes.

“It was unbelievable to see, I’ve never seen a seal up on the beach like that.”

Common seals are one of the most widespread species of pinnipeds, and often they’re found around sheltered shorelines and estuaries where they can haul-out.

Hauling-out is where pinnipeds leave the water between fishing stints to explore land and ice.

Mr Wood continued: “The two young lads I was with left their rods and went and sat with the pup, it was an incredible experience.

“They tried to feed it some fish we had caught but it didn’t take it, probably because the fish were dead.”

Canny with a camera, Mr Wood took the snaps on his Samsung smart phone, and posted them on social networking site Facebook.

The amateur photographer received more than 1,200 likes and over 100 shares.

The common seal can grow up to 1.7 metres, and on land often adopt a characteristic head-up and tail-up posture.

He added: “The reaction I received on social media was amazing, I never would have expected it.

“It was a rough day out there, the young seal definitely needed a rest.

“For a moment he even closed his eyes, I got a picture of that too.”