A CASE of mistaken identity was to blame when walkers thought they had spotted penguins off the Scarborough coast.

The town's Sea Life Sanctuary was inundated with calls when bird spotters believed the attraction's Humboldt penguins had escaped as they saw birds floating off shore.

However, the centre was quick to deny the rumours.

"Happily it’s just a case of mistaken identity," explained senior aquarist Todd German.

"We get a few calls every year from people mistaking razorbills and guillemots for their flightless cousins from the southern hemisphere.

"This year we’ve been more than usually inundated because of exceptionally large numbers of ‘little auks’ appearing close to shore on their migration from the Arctic down to wintering grounds in the North Atlantic."

Todd suspects some of the callers were fooled because the Sanctuary’s penguins are currently at a sister attraction while their enclosure is redeveloped.