AN animal lover was viciously attacked by a gang of teenagers after she tried to stop them torturing a baby seal to death.
Sarah Tough was punched in the face so hard that her nose piercing punctured her septum.
The thugs she tried to chase off had been attempting to bury the seal alive in the sand while allowing their lurchers to attack the defenceless creature.
The shocking incident happened on Monday on Crimond Beach near Hartlepool, County Durham.
Small business owner Sarah was walking her dog Tally when she spotted the attack on the baby seal and intervened.
The 25-year-old shared a photograph of her injuries on social media with the words: “Got punched in the nose by some little smack head because him and his pals were torturing a baby seal on Crimdon Beach, rolling him around and burying it in the sand, letting their dog on it.
“Told them to ‘f*** off or I’d call the police’ and he punched me.”
Despite the violence she suffered, it appears Sarah saved the life of the seal.
She added: “RSPCA got there in record time and gave him some food. He’s fine but very scared and exhausted.
“I took one for the seal team.”
One of the photos included in her post shows the bloody mess her nose was left in following the attack.
The selfie shows a close up of Sarah’s nose, covered in blood following the brutal blow which punctured a hole through her septum, the tissue which separates the left and right airways.
Her second snap shows the seal she saved, thankfully free of the yobs who were trying to torture it.
Speaking about the incident, Sally said: “I saw a group of about eight of them, all about college age, and just reacted. The seal was trying to slide away from them and they were blocking it and rolling it over.
“They had lurcher dogs with them and were trying to set them on it.
“I went over and said some choice words to them and told them to stop. One of them basically asked who I thought I was talking to and punched me in the nose.
“I have a nose piercing and the punch meant that my piercing punctured my septum. The rest of them started to laugh when I was hit.
“Luckily it’s not broken but there was a lot of blood and it was like a searing hot pain. It’s still sore now.
“I’m not so worried about myself though, I’m just glad the seal is safe.”
Facebook users were quick to commend Sarah for her bravery.
Vikki Wilson wrote: “Tough by name tough by nature.”
Steven Land commented: “Good work for standing up to them.”
Whilst Anne Chambers added: “Nice one lass. Sorry you were assaulted. Any man that hits a lass needs kicking where it hurts, right between the legs.”
A RSPCA spokeswoman said there were called by police “about a seal that they said was being poked by youths with sticks at Crimdon beach on Monday afternoon”.
The spokeswoman said: “An RSPCA officer attended and checked on the seal, which was healthy and, happily, showed no signs of injury.
“We were not aware of what happened to the woman who intervened, and hope she is okay.
“Seals are protected under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970.
“If you see a seal on the beach leave it alone. Don’t touch seals – they can give a nasty bite – and keep children and dogs away from them.”
A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: “A report was made to police regarding a group of youths causing distress to a seal and a subsequent assault at around 1.45pm on Monday 6th March.
“The woman was spoken to by police, however, no formal complaint has been made.”
