A dead porpoise has washed up on a Kent beach.

The mammal was spotted this afternoon on the shoreline in Dymchurch, although it could have arrived last night.

It is understood the carcass has been reported to Shepway District Council whose contractor will remove it from the area.

Owen Leyshon, a local wildlife expert, who works for the Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership, said: "We regularly get them washed up, but we have not had one for a couple of months.

"At the moment we have quite a few porpoises feeding off-shore at Dungeness, I counted 32 on Friday just gone and at Easter we had 50.

"They feed off Dungeness because of the fish and deep water."

He said it is common for them to wash up between Dungeness, as far as Folkestone and that the adults are usually 4ft long.

This, and the fact it is one single colour, are distinctive signs that the animal is not a dolphin, he said.

"Dolphins are quite scarce at this end of the Channel," he said.

"We get them in the spring passing through quickly, but it is unusual to get them washed up."