Dead minke whale removed from beach

The female was spotted in North Berwick on Wednesday and once the tide receded, the 31ft (9.5m) long animal washed ashore on to West Bay Beach.

On Friday morning, workers spent about three hours from sunrise retrieving the carcass.

The minke whale washed up on West Bay Beach in North Berwick (Jane Barlow/PA)

Estimated to weigh around nine tonnes, they used lifting equipment to put it in the back of a lorry to be taken away.

A spokesman for East Lothian Council said: “The surface sand has been raked over but the advice to visitors is to avoid this area, including keeping dogs away, until after this afternoon’s high tide which will wash away any remaining debris.”

The area around the whale had been cordoned off by police, and people reported the stench of the whale several streets away from the beach front.

The public has been advised to avoid the area (Jane Barlow/PA)

Common minke whales are the smallest of all baleen whales, and although it is not unusual for several to be found in close proximity to each other in feeding grounds off the west coast of Scotland, they are happy in their own company.

They are found in oceans all over the world, and prefer cooler temperatures and live on a varied diet of krill, schooling fish and larger ones too.