An Easter egg that actually helps the eater to lose weight has become a dream made reality for a giant green sea turtle at Great Yarmouth Sea Life Centre.

Staff have crafted their resident turtle - nicknamed Naughty Noah - special Easter eggs made of green low calorie, turtle friendly jelly with vegetable delicacies, including broccoli, spinach and kale, set in their centres.

Not only are the eggs full of healthy vegetables to make sure Noah gets the nutrients he needs, they will be floated around the tank for him to swim after, helping him to get more exercise and lose weight.

While visitors are likely to find Noah's Easter egg antics endearing, the egg hunt serves the serious purpose of helping Noah to reduce his bulk and keep his food foraging skills as sharp as they would be in the wild.

Robert Gaster-Ward, animal care curator at the centre, said: 'Noah shares our 250,000 litre ocean tank with black tip reef sharks and one of his favourite things to do is steal their squid at feeding times.

'It's not bad for him to have a little squid as a treat, but he likes it too much and you can see where he has some little extra rolls around his bottom at the back of his shell.'

Robert added: 'He is now on a strict diet and we're devising ways to keep him distracted while the sharks get their grub, as well as coming up with ways to help him get more exercise - the Easter egg hunt ticks both those boxes.'

Centre staff also hope putting Noah in the spotlight will help to raise awareness of the plight of green sea turtles among Sea Life visitors.

They are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (ICUN) and face many threats from being caught as by-catch in fishing trawler nets to loss of habitat and ocean pollution.

Noah can be seen hunting for his special Easter eggs on Saturday and Sunday, April 15 and 16 at noon. Visit www.visitsealife.com/greatyarmouth for details on talks and feeding times.