Dead sperm whale
© Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesA member of the public poses alongside one of three sperm whales found on a beach near Skegness.
A fifth dead whale has been found washed up on the east coast of England, several miles from where four whales were found over the weekend.

The whale, thought to be from the same pod as those found at the weekend, was discovered stranded on the beach in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, five miles south of Skegness.

A member of the public spotted the beached whale on Monday afternoon further down the coast from where three dead sperm whales washed up in the early hours of Sunday. The three whales were from the same pod as one that died on Hunstanton beach in Norfolk.

Experts are investigating whether they are linked to 12 sperm whales that have washed up on the Dutch island of Texel and the German islands of Wangerooge and Helgoland since 11 January.


Where the whales were found

A spokeswoman for the Maritime & Coastguard Agency said: "We can confirm there is a fifth whale and it is in Wainfleet. We have informed our receiver of wreck [who deals with cases of voluntary salvage wreck material across the UK] and the Zoological Society of London."

Before the fifth whale was confirmed, Adam Holmes, the RNLI station press officer for Skegness, said he had heard witness reports of a fifth stranded whale but was not in a position to confirm it.

He added: "It is under investigation by the coastguard at the moment. They've had reports, they've dispatched the crews that work along the coast to check it out and they've just arrived. Thirty seconds before you phoned they've arrived in Wainfleet to see what's going on."

James Gilbert, from East Lindsey district council, said he had seen reports on social media of a possible fifth whale late on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, anti-nuclear activists have been condemned for spraying graffiti on the three whales washed ashore in Skegness.

The message "Fukushima RIP - man killed me" was daubed in white paint along the back of one whale, while "CND" was sprayed on the tail of another.

James Gilbert, of East Lindsey district council, said it was "very unfortunate" that activists had targeted the dead whales. "It's incredibly sad to graffiti such a beautiful animal," he said.

The council has applied for a licence from the Marine Management Organisation to remove the carcasses as soon as postmortem examinations are complete. That is not expected to happen before Tuesday.

"They have been cordoned off. The very clear message we're giving to people is while we understand people do want to come and have a look because it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, please don't touch. We put all the cordons in place first thing Saturday morning but some people do have the enthusiasm to want to touch," Gilbert said.

He estimated that crowds "in the low thousands" had been drawn to Skegness over the weekend to see the whales. As he spoke, a crowd of around 100 spectators had gathered around the two whales found side by side on the beach as a scientist from the Zoological Society carried out his work.

Gilbert added: "It's an educational experience for some people. It's just incredibly sad to see such beautiful animals in that space at the same time.

"There's no doubt about it - there's an awful lot of people in the resort and quite a few people have come here because of the whales. Skegness, for the past few days - although it's a very sad reason why - has been all over the broadcast media, print media and people have certainly come as a result of hearing and reading about it."

The innards of one of the whales spilled out on to the beach when scientists cut into its carcass on Monday morning. Witnesses reported a "huge blast of air" from the body as marine biologists used a probe during initial examinations. The release of the gases caused the whale's intestines to spill out from its body on to the beach.

Scientists from the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), who took samples of skin, blubber, teeth and blood from the Hunstanton whale, will examine the Skegness bodies.

Scientists from the Zoological Society were on Monday carrying out postmortem examinations on the Skegness whales to find out how they died.

Sperm whales are deep sea creatures and can easily become disoriented if they get into shallow water.