Drivers were left stunned as a lorry carrying a 50ft headless whale hurtled down the A2 and into Canterbury today.

Heads turned as the bloody carcass was transported on the back of a truck and taken to a landfill site in the city this afternoon.

The sperm whale died after becoming stranded in the Swale near Seasalter between Whitstable and the Isle of Sheppey on Thursday.

It was towed to Sheerness docks, where an autopsy was carried out to establish how it died.

Mark Stephens, of Sturry Road, Canterbury, was driving home from work when he spotted its body being transported at Brenley Corner, near Faversham.

"I've worked near an abattoir and that smelled bad, but this was something else..." - driver Mark Stephens

The 46-year-old said: "I've never seen anything like it.

"There was a Land Rover in front and behind, flashing orange lights and this massive whale with its head and tail chopped off.

"There was blood and guts dropping off the back and everything.

"The smell was unbelievable. I've worked near an abattoir and that smelled bad, but this was something else."

Mr Stephens followed the truck down the A2 and into Canterbury, where it is thought to have been dumped at a landfill site.

He said: "It was incredible really. You would have thought given the state it was in they would have transported it at night.

"I don't think I'll see anything like that again."