A DEAD dolphin has washed up on the beach at Thurlestone Sands on Monday, but its death is a bit of the mystery.

Linda Hingley of Brixham Seawatch received a call about the dolphin on Sunday and went down to investigate.

‘It was a fully grown, large, female common dolphin’, said Lindy, ‘she was such a good weight, she may have been pregnant.

‘Common dolphins are not common and there have been sightings locally of a small pod of them, but we don’t think she was a victim of nets or a trawler, as it is the wrong time of year and she didn’t have any of the usual netting injuries.’

The Natural History Museum were due to pick the dolphin up for an autopsy on Wednesday, to try and discover the cause of death and therefore learn more about the threats to whales and dolphins in our waters.

‘Lots of people came down to help’, continued Lindy, ‘it was really heavy and people helped me move it from down at the low tide mark up to above the high tide mark for the Natural History Museum to come and pick it up. It made such a difference, thank you to them.’

If you spot a cetacean - whale, dolphin or porpoise - washed up locally, call Lindy on 07712 587799. If you spot a marine mammal or pod, you can help with scientific research into the animals by reporting the sighting on the Brixham Seawatch website: www.brixhamseawatch.org.uk.