Tourists warned about swimming with seals
Holidaymakers have been warned to keep away from wild seals amid concerns the animals "could take a child's arm off".
The number of people swimming with seals in St Ives, Cornwall has risen over the past few years, said harbour master Steve Bassett.
Now he has put up warning signs around the harbour at the tourist hotspot.
One expert said that "powerful" male seals could be very territorial and females would protect their young if they felt threatened.
Mr Bassett said feeding seals could end in severe injury.
"I'm afraid that some day someone will lose an arm," he said.
"If seals are both going for territory they can be extremely aggressive.
"And when a hand comes out towards them they will thinks that's food."
The number of people swimming with the seals had increased to a point where he felt he needed to put out the warning signs.
"God forbid something should happen, but one day a seal is going to feel trapped and bite back," he said.
"Seals are massive and the power they have in their jaws is unbelievable."
He said seals were being drawn to the harbour by the prospect of food.
"It encourages them and I dread that something will happen," he said.
Seal expert Gill Bell, head of conservation at the Marine Conservation Society in Wales, said wild creatures should not be interfered with.
"You would not allow a child to approach a wild dog with food, so why allow them to approach a seal?
"Seals are like toddlers, they will put anything in their mouth."
She added that seals carried diseases which were highly infectious to humans so even a small bite could cause serious harm.
"You should never swim over to where they are because that's when you get issues," she said.
"The main concern is that they could misinterpret an action as a supposed threat.
"They are very gorgeous to look at and that's what we should be doing, looking at them and not getting close to them."