Dead humpback whale washed up on Blyth beach

A humpback whale nicknamed Humpy by wildlife watchers has washed up dead on a beach.

The 36ft-long (11m) juvenile appeared at Blyth, Northumberland, overnight and efforts are under way to remove it.

Northumberland Council said the "partially decomposed carcass" was emitting an "unpleasant smell" and urged people to avoid the area.

According to a whale monitoring group, Humpy had been seen dead at sea several weeks ago.

He said discussion will be held about "the risk of entanglement for whales in the sea off the Northumberland coast".

The Scottish and UK Humpback Catalogue had been tracking sightings of Humpy, named by the Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Dolphin Watch group, with identification confirmed by its tail, or fluke, the underside of which is unique to each animal.

Lindsay McNeill from the group said Humpy had been seen alive in the Dunstanburgh Castle and Craster area in February.

The whale, one of 63 in the catalogue, was last seen caught in ropes in early March.

Ms McNeill said there had been an increase in humpbacks in the North Sea in recent years as they came to feed on shoaling fish such as sprat and herring.

She said it was "sad" to confirm Humpy had died but a cause of death is yet to be identified.

The whale was also being monitored by the North East Cetacean Project who designated it NL_HW_003 'Kern' after Rumbling Kern at Howick.

The group has arranged for samples to be taken for testing although the whale "is too decomposed for a full necropsy to be of any value", project coordinator Dr Martin Kitching said.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the whale was reported to it at about 07:15 GMT.

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