1 February 2013 Last updated at 15:35

In Pictures: Seabird rescue on south coast continues

Guillemot birds have been washed up covered in a mysterious substance on a 200-mile stretch of coastline between Cornwall and Sussex.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was called to the south coast on Friday after the birds were discovered on Lyme Bay near Weymouth, Dorset.

The guillemots are coated in a thick, white substance, possibly palm oil, although scientists were unable to confirm this.

Attempts to clean them using margarine and washing-up liquid have been hampered by not knowing what the mysterious substance is.

The RSPCA said the numbers of the birds coming in had been growing. Most of the guillemots have been found at Chesil Beach, near Portland.

Van loads of the seabirds have been taken off into care by the RSPCA from Chesil Beach and Portland Bill. It said it expected to continue the rescue mission through the weekend.

RSPCA deputy chief inspector John Pollock, who has been leading the rescue mission in Dorset, said: "The best way to describe it is sticky Vaseline."

The Portland Bird Observatory said Chesil Beach and Portland Bill was "littered" with sick birds. Many found covered in the unidentified sticky substance have died.

Wildlife officers said the rescued birds did "not respond well" to the cleaning techniques normally used to remove oil.

If contaminated, birds can lose their waterproofing so they cannot feed or keep warm and get blown onto the coastline.

England

In Pictures: Seabird rescue on south coast continues

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