From a distance their minds started whirring as to what the strange grey blob on Hythe beach was.

But as the Clarke family got closer they discovered it was not a baby seal or a Doctor Who style creature... but instead a washed up jellyfish.

The family originally from Kent, but who now live in Sheffield, were out for a walk along the beach on Saturday with their family who still live in Hythe.

Dad Josh said: "We were walking from the Imperial Hotel in Hythe. My wife Julia noticed it and we both thought it might have been a baby seal, it was huge, but as we got closer we noticed it was a massive jellyfish.

"It was being attacked by seagulls, if you look closely, you can see dents have been taken out of it. But it was definitely dead.

"I was getting excited because I'm a big Doctor Who fan so I thought it was a big alien!

"We were fairly surprised to see it and was thinking what was it doing there? We were both surprised to see something so big.

"I touched it to feel what it was like but it was rock hard and slimy, not what I expected.

"My daughter, Olivia, is eight months old and she's only just picking up on dogs and she was looking at it with a funny face like it was quite strange.

"We live in Sheffield so we don't see the seaside very often so it was quite cool when we saw it."

"I touched it to feel what it was like but it was rock hard and slimy, not what I expected."

Jellyfish are the prey of the critically endangered leatherback turtles which visit British waters from the tropics where they breed in search of the British jellyfish blooms throughout the summer.

According to the Marine Conservation Society - which helps protect sealife, shoreline and seas - jellyfish numbers are increasing in British waters as the sea continues to warm up during the summer months.

Since 2003, the MCS has recorded more than 6,000 sightings of jellyfish of the UK coastline.