Wildlife rescuers had to escort a sleepy seal back to the beach after it decided to take a nap on a busy road on the Mornington Peninsula.

The animal – apparently a regular visitor who is well known to locals – forced the closure of a lane on Point Nepean Road at Dromana for several hours on Friday, with orange traffic cones placed around the animal to protect it.

“Awwww , Sammy just strolling around like he does,” commented one local in a social media post.

“We all love him he is so placid & content & a great fisherman who always gets his catch …he just fell asleep on the road, Lol.”

“I love this,” wrote another. “He always just makes himself at home whenever he wants to.”

Gen Abbott, who encountered the roadblock while driving to a coffee shop in Dromana, told the ABC the seal was often spotted along the coast.

“I sat and watched with my daughter for over an hour to make sure he was safe,” she said.

“We have been following him for a while around the peninsula.”

The Age noted that there is a gap in the guardrails separating the beach from the bit of road where Sammy was sleeping.

Wildlife rescuers ultimately arrived to safely escort the seal off the road – but it was slow going as Sammy turned around several times to indicate that he was not entirely happy about the turn of events.

Meanwhile, social media users have had fun with the story, mining it for its full pun potential.

“We’ve been asking the Mornington Peninsula Shire to re-seal the roads for ages… but this isn’t quite what we meant,” quipped a post on the Everything Morning Peninsula Facebook page, adding that Dromana was the perfect spot for a power nap.

“Take it slow through the area… Local police are on scene guarding him from traffic until he decides he’s finished resting… however much like the Peninsula Link roadworks, he’s taking his sweet time.”