Vets kill stranded whale found in River Orwell

Experts said the animal, which appeared in the River Orwell near Ipswich, Suffolk, on Friday, had been humanely destroyed after getting stranded.

Zoologists plan to carry out tests on the remains if they can - although specialists said there was a good chance the whale's body could be washed away.

Experts think the whale got lost after leaving the Norwegian coast.

They said it probably should have been 200 miles away, north of Scotland.

The whale is the latest in a series to appear off the east coast over the past 18 months - none have survived.

Specialists from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) group had attempted to persuade the whale - a Northern Bottlenose - to return to the North Sea.

But Trevor Weeks, the BDMLR's national co-ordinator, said the whale was "compromised" and would have died from dehydration or starvation.

"A number of whales have appeared around the east coast over the past 18 months," said Mr Weeks.

"We've seen them off Skegness in Lincolnshire, in the Humber near Hull and most famously in the Thames early last year.

"But none have survived. The outcome in this case was never likely to be good.

"Our main concern was to prevent the animal suffering.

"The whale was in a compromised position. And once vets could safely get near it it was humanely put down.

"We are in contact with zoologists and if possible they will carry out tests but we may not be able to recover the remains to enable them to do that."

Mr Weeks said experts were not sure why whales got lost and arrived in the North Sea.

He said the whale should have been heading north of Scotland, past Iceland and the Faroe Islands after leaving Norwegian waters.

The whale was first spotted in the Orwell at about 2pm on Friday and was clearly visible from the river banks. Crowds gathered as divers attempted to coax it back into open water.

Experts think the 15ft whale was a juvenile. They said an adult would have been about six feet longer.

Onlookers said the whale carcass was today clearly visible lying in mud not far from a bridge over the river.