Whale spotted in shallow water off Norfolk coast

Whale spotted off Norfolk coast

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• From the section Norfolk

Image copyright Geograph/Pauline E

Image caption The whale has been seen in the sea near Mundesley in Norfolk

A whale has been spotted in shallow water off the Norfolk coast, less than a week after the death of another whale in the same waters.

It was reported to be alive and thrashing about near Mundesley, according to a coastguard rescue team.
The latest sighting is about 50 miles away from Hunstanton, where a whale died on Thursday after being washed up.
It was the sixth sperm whale to die off the British coast this year and the 30th to die in the North Sea in 2016.
Read more on this story and others from Norfolk
Coastguard Mike Puplett said: "We are advising people to keep at a safe distance from the whale, so we do not cause any further distress to it.
"We are doing all we can to assist the authorities and allow those with rescue experience to do their work."

Image copyright Andy Butler

Image caption Six whales have died after washing up on beaches in Lincolnshire and Norfolk this year

Six whales have died after washing up on beaches in Lincolnshire and Norfolk this year

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue said it was investigating the latest sighting and was told the whale was "still free-swimming."
Operations manager Stephen Marsh said: "If it does strand the story will be very similar to what we've had recently - the whale will have very little chance of relaunching and, if it does, its chances of survival will be very low."
The whale was spotted by a member of the Mundesley Coastguard Rescue Team, which contacted the UK Coastguard just after 10:00 GMT.
A spokesman said: "The whale, which is the seventh whale in that area, was reported to be alive and thrashing about in the shallow water."
The six whales that have died this year in British waters all washed up on the east coast of England in Skegness and Hunstanton.
The others were found beached in France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Marine experts said it was probably due to a pod straying into shallow waters while hunting squid.

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