Dead porpoise washed up on beach

The officers were called out to the beach at Seaton late yesterday after a member of the public reporting they had found the mammal washed up.

The team took members of he animal and have filled out paperwork to send to the Natural History Museum.

The call was made at 5.20pm.

The museum began recording cetacean strandings in 1913 and is now a partner in the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, which also include seals, basking sharks and marine turtles.

The project aims to unravel the events leading up to their death.

Photos are taken, the animal's size is estimated along with the the location and date of the discovery.

Post-mortem examinations are sometimes carried out to reveal information about causes of death, diseases, environmental contaminant levels, reproductive patterns, diet and baseline data on UK populations.