Thousands of dead starfish wash up on Cleethorpes beach

starfish Cleethorpes
Huge numbers of starfish and other sea creatures washed up on Cleethorpes beach. Credit: Gill D'Roza

Volunteers took to a beach to try to rescue hundreds of starfish washed ashore during Storm Babet.

Thousands of sea creatures including fish, shellfish and starfish were swept onto Cleethorpes beach in Lincolnshire by strong tides over the weekend.

Many were dead, but dozens of people gathered on Saturday to try to save those which had survived.

In a post on social media, voluntary group Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue published pictures of starfish on the beach with comment: "Nature is cruel."

One of the starfish washed up on Cleethorpes beach. Credit: Gill D'Roza

The group added said: "Many had already passed away, but thankfully with the help of... our volunteers, we were able to get around 200 alive starfish out of open air and into rock pools or deep puddles."

The group urged people not to take starfish home or disturb their rock pools, adding: "As we say nature is cruel so please don’t make it more difficult for them.

"It’s also worth mentioning that dog walkers should take extra caution as anything could’ve washed up in the tide."