Seven dolphins rescued after mass stranding

The dolphins were "caught out" by the falling tide in Mylor Creek

A rescue operation has been carried out to free a pod of dolphins after a mass stranding in a river.

Eight common dolphins came into Mylor Creek near Falmouth, Cornwall, on Wednesday and were becoming trapped as the tide started to recede.

Members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) attended along with the UK Coastguard and the Truro harbour master.

Seven dolphins were helped to safety but one calf died.

Animal rescue teams said there were "difficult, muddy conditions"

BDMLR volunteers managed to do a "basic health check" on the stranded dolphins in "difficult, muddy conditions" and move them into deeper water.

Dr Natalie Arrow, head veterinary consultant for BDMLR, said: "As we started with a very small team of actual British Divers volunteers they were amazing.

"It was an extremely difficult scene to arrive to.

"Members of the public round here were fantastic.

"They were coming out of their homes and offering us any assistance that they could and they were really getting stuck in with the rescue."

She added: "Seven of the individuals did make it back out but very sadly one young calf did die.

"It was extremely stressed from the moment it stranded and, regardless of whatever we tried to do to support the calf, very sadly it did pass away."

Ms Arrow said common dolphins had been seen in the creek before but they are a deep water species which are "not very good at navigating in shallow water conditions".