Another dead whale has washed up on the coast of the UK after four others were found dead off the coast of Kent.
Members of the public are being asked to stay away after the body of a pilot whale washed up on a beach on the Isle of Wight.
The island’s local authority said it was unable to recover the body on Saturday with a further attempt planned on Sunday.
A spokeswoman for the Isle of Wight Council said: ‘Due to complications around the high tide, the Isle of Wight Council’s recovery team have been unable to recover the body of the pilot whale that was discovered on a West Wight beach earlier today.
‘Recovery will be reattempted at low tide tomorrow morning.
‘At this time, we ask all members of the public to stay well away from the area, in the interest of health and safety.’
It comes after four whales died after becoming becoming trapped on mudflats off the Kent coast on Tuesday.
On Monday pod of nine pilot whales also lost their way and ended up stranded on mudflats in the Swale estuary between Whitstable and the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
About 30 members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were at the scene on Monday but were unable to reach the whales because of the need to traverse the mud.
The would-be rescuers returned this morning, but one whale washed up dead at about 9am, and three more were found at about 3pm.
It is unclear exactly where the whales were found, but the divers had planned to use specialist equipment to cross the mudflats and reach them today in an attempt to refloat them at high tide.
Currently, the remaining whales have not been located and it is hoped that they have returned to the sea.