The facility at Scarborough's Sea Life and Marine Sanctuary has been designed to care for up to four injured seals at once, as previously the centre could only cater for one at a time.

The guest of honour at yesterday's grand opening was Herbie, a nine-month-old seal pup who had been transferred from the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth to be united for the first time with his dad Bubbles and older brother Ed.

Lyndsey Crawford, displays supervisor, explained that Bubbles and Ed were brought from Weymouth last summer in a bid to leave the enclosure with just female residents.

But, unknown to the staff, Bubbles had already had an amorous encounter with a female called Smartie and, a few months after he left, along came Herbie.

Michaela Bowness, marketing co-ordinator, said: "The reunion was fantastic. Herbie was a little bit shy when he came out of his cage but once he was in the pool he went straight to his dad. It was quite emotional really."

She added that the pup has now settled in well to his new home and is feeding well.

Herbie was originally named Sherbet, but on his arrival at Scarborough was renamed Herbie, for a more Yorkshire feel.

Other VIP guests at the opening ceremony included pupils from the reception class at St Martin's School, who wore seal masks and had a look inside the new seal pens, and Evening News competition winner Jack Poor.

Jack, five, drew a picture of himself and his dad carrying out conservation work in Cayton. He scooped the first prize of a guided tour of the new rescue centre and a free Sea Life family pass for a year.
The new rescue centre is now up and running and ready to receive injured or abandoned pups.

Miss Bowness said: "The centre is amazing – it's a great place for children to visit as it's interactive, so they can learn and have fun at the same time.

"A lot of work has gone into it and I want to thank everyone involved for their efforts – especially our displays curator Lyndsey Crawford."