A DEAD dolphin has washed up at West Bay.

West Bay resident Rachel Jenner spotted the dismembered carcass of the dolphin on Tuesday afternoon whilst walking along East Beach.

She said: "My mum and I were out walking the dogs when we came across it.

"It was such a shame to see. It had clearly been injured and had lost its head.

"Unfortunately due to the rough sea we weren't able to get close enough to see what had caused the damage but it did have some obvious visible scars that could be seen from a safe distance."

The West Bay Coastguard Rescue Team was alerted to the discovery on Tuesday evening. After discussions with the Coastguard operations room, it was decided that the team would be re-paged the following morning.

Two members of the team went out at 8am on Wednesday with daylight allowing for better conditions to locate and photograph the dolphin.

Details including full measurements, tooth count, sex, dorsal, pectoral and fluke condition as well as notable injuries were all recorded which was then sent to the Natural History Museum for analysis.

Onward recovery and disposal was then sought by Solent Coastguard via the local authorities.