Penguin 'sighting' in Selsey

In what appears to be an April Fool's joke, the rescue team said a decision was made to close West Beach and put a cordon in place to try and encourage the African penguin ashore.

It added: "The team arrived on scene and confirmed the sightings of the penguin to be true and witnessed it swimming not to far from the shore.

"With this information fed back to our operations room who then in turn liaised with wildlife and marine groups.

"The team have maintained the cordon throughout the night with marine experts, and the what is believed to be an African penguin is still around this morning. Rescue attempts are still being carried out to try and capture it.

"At present it is unknown where this African penguin has come from and why it has reached our shores here in sunny Selsey."