Dead dolphin found in a garden that lies half a mile from the sea

Mike Elliott, 28, and housemate Gary Harvey, who are both Royal Navy marine engineers woke to find the 3ft dolphin, in Portland, Dorset.

Mr Harvey, 23, said: 'I woke up, looked out of my window and saw what appeared to be a dolphin in the garden.

Grisly find: Friends Mike Elliott , 28, (right) and Gary Harvey, 23, were puzzled when they discovered a dolphin in their garden

'I went downstairs to have a closer look and that confirmed it - there was a three foot dolphin in the back garden.

'I really don't know how it got there. I was pretty amazed. I thought I was dreaming to start with.'

They called police who made house to house enquiries about the dolphin, which died of unknown causes.

'There was no evidence a criminal offence had been committed,' a Dorset Police spokesman added.

Environmental health officers from Weymouth and Portland Borough Council were contacted and removed the mammal.

The dolphin appeared to have two puncture wounds in its stomach as if it had been speared.

Mr Harvey added: 'There was no tidal wave and we live about half a mile from the sea quite a bit above sea level at the top of Portland so it must have been dumped there.'