A SEA turtle that survived a shark attack, severe dehydration and hypothermia arrived in the region yesterday to continue her recovery.

Loggerhead turtle Myrtle was taken to Scarborough Sea Life and Marine Sanctuary to take advantage of its warm water tank.

Her recovery began after she was rescued from the shore of North Uist, in the Western Isles of Scotland, by officers from the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

She had a flipper missing and was badly battered.

She was taken to the Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary, at Oban, where expert Jamie Dyer spotted tell-tale bite marks showing that she lost her flipper in a shark attack.

He said: "She was in a really bad way. She was clearly malnourished, she was hypothermic having presumably spent days in seas that were 11 degrees centigrade, having come from much warmer seas of about 23 degrees far to the south, and she also looked to have some nasty infections."

It was also feared that Myrtle had lost her eyes, but they had just receded into the sockets through dehydration.

Her lengthy recovery began with tube feeding, a course of antibiotics and a gradual raising of her body temperature.

Mr Dyer said: "Eventually she was strong enough to feed herself, her eyes cleared and she was able to swim in a shallow quarantine tank."

Last week, vet Sue Thornton declared Myrtle fit to travel to the Scarborough sanctuary, from where she will eventually be returned to the wild.

"Myrtle needs to move into a more spacious, warm water tank where she can gradually build her strength and stamina," said Mr Dyer.