Planet Earth II viewers were left distraught last night by the plight of hatchling turtles facing death after being attracted towards a busy road by light pollution.

The final episode of Sir David Attenborough’s hit programme showed the babies in Barbados wrongly heading across a beach towards a town rather than the sea.

With 80 per cent of them disorientated by the town's lights, some were caught by crabs or fell down storm drains while others tried to dodge fast-moving cars.

Dangerous: The final episode of Sir David Attenborough’s hit programme showed turtle hatchings in Barbados wrongly heading across a beach towards a town rather than the sea.

Wrong direction: Some of the hatchlings on the BBC One programme were clearly confused as they travelled up the beach towards bright light coming from the land

But while the show failed to reveal the fate of many of the turtles, a happy ending followed as the BBC later explained that the crew helped the hatchlings to safety.

In the show, Sir David told how turtles have an instinct to reach the sea as quickly as possible while guided by the light of the full moon reflected on the water.

But some of the hatchlings on the BBC One programme were clearly confused as they travelled up the beach towards bright light coming from the land.

Sir David, 90, told how crabs were ready to take advantage, making burrows directly below the beach lights while they wait for their prey to come to them.

He added that the lights become ‘more bewildering’ for the hatchlings as they go towards the town, with roads killing many and others getting trapped in drains.

Stuck: With 80 per cent of them disorientated by the town lights, some were caught by crabs or fell down storm drains while others tried to dodge fast-moving cars

Coming to the rescue: The BBC moved to reassure worried viewers by posting footage of workers from the Barbados Sea Turtle Project trying to save thousands of turtles

The footage shocked many viewers, with student Gabi Doyle from Scunthorpe tweeting: ‘Quitting everything and off to help those little turtles get to the sea.’

Personal trainer Carly Rowena tweeted: 'The Turtles mistaking city light for the moon absolutely broke my heart, we need to be more aware of the life around us.'

And Tamara Auer from Austria tweeted: 'Why is no one helping the baby turtles?’

But the BBC moved to reassure worried viewers by posting footage of workers from the Barbados Sea Turtle Project trying to save thousands of turtles.

The BBC Earth account also tweeted during the show: ‘Every turtle that was seen or filmed by the Planet Earth II crew was collected and put back into the sea.’

Helping out: While the show failed to reveal the fate of many of the turtles, a happy ending followed as the BBC later explained that the crew helped the hatchlings to safety

Concern: Planet Earth II viewers were left distraught by the plight of turtles facing death

Writing about the final episode in the hugely successful series, MailOnline TV critic Jim Shelley said: ‘The determination with which they ploughed ahead was heartbreaking especially as you knew it would be not only futile but fatal.

Sir David Attenborough closed the series with an urgent message about saving the planet from the top of The Shard in London

‘Every night hundreds of hatchlings died horribly slow deaths – helplessly stuck in discarded plastic cups, trapped in the grills of the drains, tipping on to their backs after toppling off the kerbs, or simply dying on the streets of exhaustion from their first and last marathon journey.

‘To compound things, all around them the local revellers going home did nothing, having presumably become inured to the sight of their struggle by its sheer regularity.’

The six-part series was captured by 22 cameramen, involved more than 40 production staff, 117 expeditions in 40 countries and 2,089 shooting days.

At the end of the show last night, Sir David closed it with an urgent message about saving the planet from the top of The Shard in London.

The programme is the most-watched natural history show of the last 15 years and more than 12 million people expected to have tuned in for last night’s finale.

Such has been the popularity of Planet Earth II, which follows on from the original Planet Earth series in 2006, that several scenes have become internet sensations.

They have ranged from dancing bears to iguana hatchlings being chased by racer snakes, with more than nine million people tuning in for each episode.