Second whale washes up on East Lothian beach

An area around the minke whale carcass was cordoned off

A whale has washed up on a beach in East Lothian for the second time in less than a month.

The "badly decomposed" minke was found on North Berwick beach on Sunday morning.

East Lothian Council cordoned off the area before the carcass was lifted onto a trailer.

It is the second whale to wash up on the same beach in recent weeks, with a nine-tonne minke whale carcass also removed on 21 April.

Further north, a dead humpback whale was found on a sand bank at Loch Fleet nature reserve in Sutherland on Friday.

An expert at the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) said initial examinations suggested the juvenile female had died after becoming tangled in creel lines.

SMASS is a dedicated research and reporting project for stranded cetaceans, pinnipeds, marine turtles and large sharks in Scotland.

Stranded whales longer than 25ft (7.62m) are considered "royal fish", with the Scottish government having first claim on those found dead or stranded on the shoreline north of the border on behalf of the Crown.

If it does not want to claim it, it will speak to the local authority and environmental officers, who can then arrange to collect the carcass.

Responsibility for smaller whales, as well as all porpoises, dolphins and sturgeons, lies with the local authority.