People are being urged to keep their distance ahead of efforts to recover a dead whale washed ashore.

The marine giant was first discovered by a dog walker and his son off the River Thames in a remote part of Cliffe, on the Hoo Peninsula, yesterday.

The Port of London Authority (PLA) has since confirmed it to be a juvenile female fin species.

It had initially been believed to be a Minke whale but images posted to social media have helped the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme correctly reclassify it.

In the meantime efforts to remove the whale have been hampered by Storm Gerrit.

The whale remains on shore but is now further inland with a red strap and rope attached to it by the PLA as part of the recovery process.

A spokesman for the PLA said: "Currently the body of a whale that washed up on Wednesday at Cliffe is still on the foreshore.

"Our Marine Services team is working to determine the safest way to remove the body.

"Recovery efforts have been hampered by Storm Gerrit, the mudflats along the rocky foreshore and limited road access at the site.

"The removal of a buoy also set back our ability to remove the whale on Friday, [although] weather conditions appear likely to improve early next week.”

The public are being asked to keep their distance and not to interfere with the carcass or remove any equipment.

The spokesman added: "As with any wild animal carcass, there is a risk of it carrying harmful bacteria, including due to decomposition - people should keep their distance.”

New drone images from photographer and drone operator Geoff Watkins show the whale further inland today.

Mr Watkins, who runs Aerial Imaging South East, captured images of the sad spectacle from above.

Jack Theed, 33, who came across the whale yesterday, told KentOnline: "It was just absolutely massive.

"I've lived in Cliffe for 23 years and never seen anything like this before.

"The bit I walked around isn't somewhere a lot of people go.

"I would guess it’s about 30ft, but it's hard to gauge of course."