Injured turtles to return to wild

Skye the loggerhead turtle will be flown to Gran Canaria

Two injured loggerhead turtles rescued from the Scottish coast will be flown to Gran Canaria after recovering at a Dorset sanctuary.

Skye and Holly were both found close to death, hypothermic and malnourished, and were taken to the Weymouth Sea Life Park to recover.

The pair are now fit enough to be flown out to Gran Canaria and will be set back in to the wild a day or two later.

They will be taken from Manchester to the Spanish island on Monday evening.

One of the loggerhead turtles, named Holly, measured less than 12in (30cm) when she was found before Christmas by a 16-year-old boy out walking his dog in Ardmucknish Bay in the West Highlands.

The other turtle, called Skye after the Scottish island where he was found close to death in July last year, was 66cm (26in) and missing a front flipper.

'Satisfying work'

Skye is now nearly a metre long and weighs more than 20kg (44 pounds).

Marine expert Sarah Leaney, who is in charge of the turtle sanctuary, will travel with them.

She said: "This mission will bring the sanctuary's first sea turtle rescues to a successful conclusion and I can't wait to watch them paddle off into the warm Atlantic surf.

"It's sure to be a very moving experience, and a very satisfying one, after all the work that has gone into caring for these two animals over the past eight or nine months."