If we gave an award for the most playful pictures of the day, these adorably silly snapshots would seal it.

A happy herd of seals were captured lolling on the beach by amateur photographer Mark Reeve, from Reydon, near Southwold.

Each humanlike expression of one particular fin-footed funster is ripe for reproduction as an online meme – from the furry ‘facepalm’, to the furtive glance and gleeful grin.

Mr Reeve, 55, captured the mild-mannered mammals basking in the wash at Horsey, on the Norfolk coast.

It’s not the first time he has been close to such cheerful creatures. In 2009, he caught two wild horses appearing to bray with laughter at Reydon Marshes, north of the Blyth Estuary.

The mental health carer said: “It all happened within a couple of seconds. I got as close as I could without messing with him and we made a bit of a connection.”