Rare violet sea snails spotted in UK waters

The violet sea snail has been described as "alien" and "stunning"

Loads of rare violet sea snails have been spotted in UK waters.

About 60 of the sea snails, with light purple coloured shells, have been reported around the beaches of the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall in the south west of England.

The snails float upside-down on the surface of the water with a self-made 'bubble raft' that is produced from their bodies explains local expert, Scott Reid from Scilly Rockpool Safaris.

"They spend their lives on the sea surface using a raft of gas-filled bubbles to keep them afloat, which they develop using a special mucus."

The snail creates a 'bubble raft' it uses to float

The snails, which like warmer waters, can be spotted every few years and were seen around St Mary's and Tresco, part of a group of islands which make up the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall.

However, Scott Reid says there have been unusually large numbers of the snails, with more than 60 reported over the past week.

Adding that the "unprecedented" number was likely to be as a result of a huge movement of jellyfish-like creatures known as By-the-wind Sailors - which the sea snails feed on.

It's thought that the large numbers of sea snails is a result of a huge movement of By-the-wind Sailors (pictured) - small creatures which resemble a jellyfish - that the sea snails feed on

Lucy McRobert, communications manager at the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, told BBC Radio Cornwall: "They are actually bright purple and they stand out a mile on the beach and are just utterly beautiful."

She added that: "Like so many of the weirdly wonderful creatures that wash up on our shores, violet sea snails are both mesmerizingly beautiful and completely alien to us.

"More eagle-eyed beachcombers might find one or two some years, but it's unusual to see so many."

The snails have been pictured on islands of St Mary's at Tresco