Dolphin dies after washing up on Somerset beach

'A sad ending for such a wonderful creature’

The six-foot-long common dolphin had washed up on the high tide (Weston-Super-Mare Coastguard Rescue Team)

A dolphin has died after becoming stranded on a beach in Somerset.

The common dolphin washed onto the beach at Sandy Bay near Weston-super-Mare on Sunday.

A specialist team from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) – aided by the Weston-Super-Mare Coastguard Rescue Team – was unable to save the animal, which washed up on the high tide.

The 200kg, six-foot dolphin was removed from the beach for a post mortem to establish the cause of stranding and death.

Mark Newman, spokesman for the Burnham Area Rescue Boat, which helped try to save the animal, said: “It had initially been showing signs of life, with air being blown through its blowhole, but sadly it was declared deceased during the incident.

“A sad ending for such a wonderful creature.”

A spokesman for Weston Coastguard Rescue Team said: “Arriving on scene, we sent two techs to the location armed with water and a blanket, (not for warmth but to wrap the dolphin and soak with water) as we were informed it was still alive.

“We had to await the arrival of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue specialists as dolphins are recognised as ‘royal’ mammals.

“They arrived and inspected, and sadly on this occasion it was not possible to save it due to the amount of time it had been out of the water.

“It was securely package for transportation by the BDMLR while they attempted to contact the Natural History Museum, as they will likely wish to perform a post mortem to try and determine how and why it ended up where it did.

“A very sad end to our first callout of the year.”