Whale dies after being swept ashore

EXPERTS’ efforts to save a beached whale in East Lothian were in vain.

The mammal was washed on to rocks and heavy seas made the rescue operation too difficult.

The minke whale had been beached for more than 12 hours and Forth Coastguard said it had died of natural causes.

A member of the public spotted the mammal at North Berwick yesterday.

John McCarter, an RNLI crew member at North Berwick, said: “It is pretty tragic.”