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The 30ft minke whale washed up on Cleethorpes beach yesterday. The dead whale was found around a mile out from the Brighton slipway.
Part of Cleethorpes beach could be closed off today if a washed-up huge whale isn't taken away by the high tide.

As reported at www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk , a 30ft minke whale washed up on Cleethorpes beach yesterday.

The dead mammal was found around a mile out from the Brighton slipway.

North East Lincolnshire Council's Beach Safety Team were called to the scene, but there was little they could do for the whale, which had already died.

The RSPCA and officers from Natural England also attended yesterday morning after a call was made at around 9am.

North East Lincolnshire Council officials are investigating.

A spokesman said: "A dead whale, thought to be a fin or minke whale, was found washed up on Cleethorpes beach Thursday morning.

"It's about ten metres long and was found at low tide about a mile from the shore.

"Our beach safety team is working with officers from HM Coastguard to inform the relevant bodies.

"The whale might move during the high tide - either out to sea or further up the beach.

"We might need to close the beach if it remains there after high tide today."

The spokesman added: "Diseases can be transmitted from the bodies of dead mammals to humans and we advise people to stay well away from it."

Common minke whales are usually found in the waters of the North Sea, but have washed up in Cleethorpes before.

In 2013, a whale washed up dead on Cleethorpes beach and was then buried at a waste tip in Wakefield.

The 14ft minke whale was found on the shore near Wonderland.

Minke whales, which prefer arctic conditions, are rarely found this far south although the body of a dead minke was also found at North Cotes in 2012.

And in 2011, emergency services rescued a 30ft whale which found itself stranded at Immingham Docks. About 50 emergency workers faced a race against time to free the 15-tonne creature from thick mud after it became beached in the early hours of the morning.

The rescue - which at the time was thought to be the largest-scaled animal rescue in the area's recent history - saw 20 members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and Humberside Fire And Rescue battle for eight hours in the mud and icy water while the HM Coastguard, Cleethorpes RNLI the RSPCA and Swanbridge Veterinary Hospital supported them from the ground.