Stranded pilot whale dies despite rescue attempts

Residents rushed to try and save the whale on Saturday morning

A stranded pilot whale has died on a beach on the Isle of Wight despite attempts to rescue it.

Residents rushed to try to save the whale on Saturday morning on the West Wight beach after the alarm was raised.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it first received reports of the stricken animal at 06:30 BST.

Local resident Paul Blackley, who was at the scene, said a vet assessed the whale as being "too poorly and had to be put to sleep".

The whale was caught in the shallows as the tide was coming in

It is the latest in a spate of pilot whale deaths around the coast of southern England and comes the day after a mother and calf had to be put down when they became stranded off Canvey Island in Essex.

Isle of Wight Council said attempts to recover the body of the whale had failed "due to complications around the high tide" and it would attempt the operation again on Sunday morning.

Mr Blackley said he "grabbed buckets, towels and blankets" in an attempt to help earlier.

He said two dog walkers were already in the sea trying to assist the whale, which was caught in the shallows as the tide was coming in.

"They said it had tried to swim but kept rolling over," he explained.

"We concentrated on trying to keep it upright so it could breathe."

Needles Coastguard Rescue Team attended the scene

The MCA said members of both British Divers Marine Life Rescue and Needles Coastguard Rescue Team attended the scene.

However, Mr Blackley said when a vet arrived the whale was assessed and "sadly it was decided it was too poorly and had to be put to sleep".

The council advised people to avoid the area during Sunday's recovery attempt "in the interest of health and safety".

Natasha Dix, the council’s service director for waste, environment and planning, said a "specialist collection" of the whale was being prepared via a pet and equine crematorium, which would take the body to a licenced storage facility.

"We are discussion with the cetacean stranding investigation group on the mainland who wish to collect the whale early next week to autopsy," she said.

Isle of Wight Council said it was unable to recover the body on the West Wight beach on Saturday