Beachgoers have been left horrified after a dead porpoise has washed up on Saltburn beach this morning.
Pictures reveal the shocking reality of the situation along the North East coast as marine life continues to wash up dead.
Along with the porpoise, walkers have photographed dead seabirds, most are guillemots with one herring gull and one black-headed gull.
Hundreds of lion mane jellyfish were also spotted dead on the beach.
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Emily Nosilla, a former marine biologist now teacher, explained that as she walked along the beach she saw a variety of dead marine life.
She said: “We were out for about 5 hours.
"We walked from Marske to Saltburn and then back and Marske to Redcar and back.
"We saw over 30 dead birds, ( I'd estimate close to 40 but I didn't count) mostly guillemots, 1 or 2 gulls.
"Some open and being eaten and some just fully intact.
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"They were all over the beach (not just water line).
"We also saw a dead porpoise on the beach, over 100 lion mane jellyfish or 2 moon jeyfish, a few star fish, sea urchins, and fish also washed up on the beach."
Emily explained that the incident 'worries' her a lot.
This comes nearly two years after thousands of marine animals were washed up along the North East coast in October 2021.
An investigation was unable to come to a conclusion on what was behind the deaths two years ago.
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Ruthie Holbrook also went for a walk along the beach and she emphasised the need to discover the cause of these deaths.
She took pictures of every bird she saw to report them all to DEFRA.
She said: "The cause or causes of these deaths needs to be determined.
"We need to know if it is avian flu and if so what protective measures we can put in place.
"If it is toxicity then we need to know what the source is.
"If it is starvation then what has happened to their food sources?"
A DEFRA spokesperson said: "Stranded and/or dead dolphins should be reported to CSIP (Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme).
"We recommend that the animal is not touched.
"The removal of the bodies should be arranged by the local authority and as such the wash up should be additionally reported to them."
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