Up to10 Atlantic grey seal pups have been spotted on beaches from Llangrannog to Cwmtydu this year.

Volunteers of Cwmtydu Bay Wildlife Group have been delighted that so many pups have been seen, with four spotted on the beach during September alone.

However, the group is urging members of the public to keep their distance to ensure the young the young animals are given the best possible chance of survival.

"We monitor the welfare of the seals and give information to local people and visitors not to approach them - so far this year we have given 260 hours of watching time," said Pauline Bett, a founding member of the group, which was formed in 2001.

"Some years, we have watched for over 300 hours and our watching time usually starts around August Bank Holiday when the first pup is born."

Passionate about the seals, Pauline is hopeful that most of the pups born this year will survive, but knows there will be casualties.

One pup was rescued from Cwmtydu beach Monday, September 26, after it became separated from its mother in the rough seas the previous weekend.

Thanks to the efforts of Pauline and her colleagues, the abandoned pup was rescued and taken to Terry Leadbetter's Milford Haven Seal Hospital.

The group's main priority during the pupping season is to restrict access to the sea caves where the pups spend their early weeks and Ceredigion County Council has supported the initiative by introducing notices in the car park.

"Cwmtydu is a pupping beach," Pauline said. "People can see the seals mating there and bulls fighting.

"It’s full of activity and we have a resident bull that has been there since 2004.

"The females will only feed for around 18 days and then the pups must fend for themselves."

Pauline said those first 18 days were crucial to each pups chances of survival.

"It is vitally important that the mothers don’t get disturbed during this time as the pups need to be fed regularly and need to triple their body weight ready for life alone, so we ask people to stay behind the car park wall and to observe from there and the seals are happy with that," she said.

"We don’t want dogs running loose on the beach either. The mothers are very sensitive to smell and won’t feed if people or animals are close by.

"We know that between 30 and 40 per cent of the pups won’t make it as it is.

"They risk getting injured by boats and rough seas especially this time of year, and if the mother stays away and doesn’t feed regularly, the pup will lose its bodyweight and is clearly not going to survive and will generally get washed up if we can’t get to them."

Between 2001 and 2015, 31 pups have been monitored in the area by the volunteers, with others spotted by the public and those using the coastal path.

Pauline is optimistic that these numbers will continue to rise during the next few years as people learn to respect the seals' privacy and keep their distance to ensure the continuation of the species in the area.