A WHALE has been washed up on the beach at Hartlepool.

It is thought the minke whale was caught up in lobster pots near Saltburn and has been drifting since the beginning of October after the body was cut free.

The 18ft-long creature washed up on a beach north of the Headland, Hartlepool at about 1pm on Thursday and the Coastguard and officers from Hartlepool Borough Council were called to the scene.

The Northern Echo:

Experts from the National History Museum and the Zoological Society will help establish the cause of the death.

Plans to dispose of the carcass have been postponed due to the high tide but, if it is still on the beach, it will be removed at low tide from about 8am on Friday.

A spokesman for HM Coastguard explained that three officers had been sent to the area to help ensure public safety and support the National History Museum team.

A pilot boat crew had made the Coastguard aware of the body drifting and potentially causing a hazard for shipping on Tuesday, October 6 although there have been other online reports that the whale had been drifting since Thursday, October 1.

A spokesman for Hartlepool Council said: "Our team will be involved with removing the body while giving the whale as much dignity as possible.

The Northern Echo:

"There are protocols that need to be followed and it was decided to wait until low tide in the morning for safety reasons."

A spokeswoman for the National marine environmental charity, the Sea Watch Foundation, said the death was a tragedy.
“As a research charity dedicated to the protection and conservation of whales, dolphins and porpoises, we’re always devastated to see them injured or killed as a result of human impacts. ‘Ghost fishing’, where indiscriminate animals are caught with discarded gear, is a particularly tragic example of how we as humans can have a direct impact on the welfare of wild animals in our seas. 

"Minke whales are the most common whale species to be reported around our coast and yet most people living in the UK will not realise that they exist out there, let along having had the good fortune to see one.

"Waters off the North-east of England are a great place to spot one of these elusive creatures and we hope that with further monitoring and increased protection that many more people will have the chance to witness these giants, thriving not far from our homes on the land.”