The dead sperm whale washed up on the beach at Hunstanton.
© Ian Burt

The dead sperm whale washed up on the beach at Hunstanton.
Battered and bruised, it came to rest on the beach as its life ebbed away with the tide.

First light today revealed the giant of the deep that washed up on Hunstanton Beach.

Overnight, the tide had moved the creature towards Old Hunstanton, washing it onto the rusting remains of a shipwreck close to the cliffs.

Hundreds of sightseers walked the half mile from the prom steps to see it.

The 30ft bull sperm whale was one of four seen swimming off the resort yesterday afternoon

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While three of the pod appeared to swim away to safety, one became stranded beneath the cliffs.

Hunstanton lifeboat crew launched their hovercraft and tried to coax the creature back out to sea.

Lifeboat spokesman Geoff Needham said: "This large animal although still alive and wallowing about, was unable to make for the deeper water. As the tide was dropping away nothing more could be done.

"I understand that the experts were going to monitor it in the hope that it still might be saved. In the last few years we have had about half dozen such strandings in the Wash none have survived, the clean up bill runs into thousands, a very sad end to such a magnificent animal."

Brian Long, portfolio holder for the environment with West Norfolk council, said specialist contractors would be brought in to cut up the carcase and remove the animal. He said the operation was unlikely to begin until Monday.

The sperm whale stranded at Hunstanton
© Matthew UsherThe sperm whale stranded on Hunstanton Beach near the cliffs.
"It's a terrible thing, we'd advise the public to keep away from it," he said. "They do attract a lot of attention, being such big animals, people do flock to look."

Today security guards were keep a watch on the whale, to prevent souvenir hunters stealing its teeth. Removing the creature will be hampered by the rocky terrain.

Scientists from the Natural History Museum will take samples from the whale, to try to ascertain how it died. A number of bull whales have stranded in the southern North Sea in recent weeks.

Earlier, experts from the British Divers Marine Rescue group rushed to the scene, as police and coastguards cordoned off the beach. They were stood down, when it became clear they could not save the creature.

Member Beth Phelps said: "We can't move it, it's not in good shape, it's bleeding a lot. We haven't got the capacity to euthanase an animal that size. It's 30ft long and about 20 tonnes."

As the tide retreated, the whale's struggles became weaker. First its great tail flukes broke the surface, then its back as it ran out of water.

Its injuries could clearly be seen as the moon rose over the cliff tops, great gashes and wounds gouged by the chalk and carr stone boulders which litter the beach.

Earlier, crowds gathered on the prom to watch the drama as searchlights lit up the sea. News of the whales' arrival off Hunstanton had spread by social media.

Nigel Croasdale, manager of Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary, said: "We received a number of calls from members of the public, saying that they had seen large animals, sharks of whales, along the coast.

"We went out to have a look to see what was going on. We saw at least four individual whales which we believed to be sperm whales swimming around in the shallow water.

"They seemed to be moving slowly. I think at that point, they were finding themselves partially-beached.

"One or two of them appeared to be rolling, as if partially-beached. The tide was still on its way in at that point."

Peter Naylor, 29, from Old Hunstanton, said: "I saw three myself, but there has been talk that there are four, while I've heard the Humber coastguard has reported there could be as many as six.

"When I got down there, there was one which had made its way out into The Wash and there were two very much stuck. The tide was coming in and one of them managed to get away.

"One of them was really stuck and it was still there when I left. It looked like it was really stuck and there's not a lot anyone can do. It's a huge whale, it must be about as big as a bus and it looked like it had cut itself up quite badly."

Lindsay Bird, 24, from Ingioldisthorpe, a frequent walker on the beach, said: "I walk down here two or three times a week and I've never seen anything like it before."

On Christmas Eve 2011, a sperm whale washed-up at nearby Old Hunstanton. Thousands flocked to see it.

A warning was issued to visitors urging them not to touch the body, or allow their dogs to contact it directly, as it was decomposing on the sand.

The Health Protection Agency and Food Standards Agency also issued a joint statement which also warned watersport participants to stay away.