Operation removes dead fin whale from Bridlington beach

• Video courtesy of @sneekyhen2/Twitter

Roads were closed after an operation was launched to remove the body of a 25-tonne whale from a beach in East Yorkshire.

The junior male fin whale, measuring around 55ft (17m) in length, died on Tuesday after becoming stranded on Bridlington's South Beach.

Crowds gathered on Friday to watch as three diggers rolled the carcass onto a huge sledge before they were roped together to drag it off the sand.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council said Belvedere Parade and the park-and-ride facility were closed until further notice.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council say it was the biggest operation of its kind it has ever completed.

A council spokesperson said: "We have now managed to move the whale's body off the beach on to a truck, strapped it down and carried it up a slipway.

"It will be covered over and moved away from Bridlington in the next few hours.

"The body will now be taken away by our contractors to be disposed of."

Despite warnings to stay away, people had continued to visit the beach in large numbers after the whale died. Some were seen climbing on the carcass.

A police cordon was put up and security staff brought in to protect the body.

Fin whales are the second largest animal on earth after the blue whale and are native to the world's major oceans, but are rarely seen in the Channel.

It is not yet known how the whale died.

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