A SECOND live Seahorse has been rescued from the sands of Poole Bay and successfully returned to the sea.

And the story of the first rescue in Wednesday’s Daily Echo has been credited with helping save this fully mature spiny seahorse.

Dave Hartwell, principal of the Watersports Academy, discovered the delightful creature at Sandbanks, having been washed up in rough seas.

“He found it on the beach and had the presence of mind to put it in a bucket,” said Neil Garrick-Maidment, executive director of The Seahorse Trust.

“When Dave found the seahorse he telephoned us as a direct result of the Daily Echo’s last article about the seahorse found at Knoll Beach, and we gave him advice on how to handle the seahorse and the best thing to do with her, which was to release her back to the wild,” he said.

He aided the British Seahorse Survey by reporting the sighting and sending an identifying picture.

The delicate creatures are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, as a result of the work of The Seahorse Trust, and it is illegal to kill, disturb or take them from the wild.

Under the act if a seahorse is washed up on the beach people are allowed to handle it in order to put it back into the wild.

“We would like to thank Dave and the team at the Watersports Academy for their prompt action which saved the life of this seahorse,” said Neil.

“We would also like to thank the Echo for running the story about the Knoll seahorse, which in turn saved the life of this one.”

The first spiny seahorse found by an eagle-eyed schoolboy at Studland, was the first to be seen this early in the year, and was rescued by Kevin Rideout, the National Trust’s visitor experience officer after being stranded and run over by a bicycle.

The survey can be found at britishseahorsesurvey.org and the trust at theseahorsetrust.org