The mammal died despite hopes it would survive until the tide went out A 35ft (10.6m) long whale has died three hours after becoming stranded on a beach on Teesside.
Police alerted the RNLI after spotting the 20 tonne, stricken mammal on Redcar Beach, just after 0620 BST. Officers from the RSPCA joined the rescue bid and tried to keep the whale wet in the hope it would be taken out by the high tide at about 1500 BST.
But despite the efforts, the mammal, believed to be a sperm whale, did not survive.
Officers from the Coastguard and Cleveland Fire Brigade also tried to help while RSPCA vets assessed the mammal's condition.
An RNLI spokesman said: "We have just received notification that unfortunately it has just died in the last few minutes.
"We don't know the reasons but usually when they get to this situation the conclusion is that they don't survive.
"A post mortem will be carried out on the whale and then it will be up to the local council to dispose of it."
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