Tens of thousands of sea creatures — including crabs, starfish and sea cucumbers —washed up on Britain's east coast after last week's cold snap.
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Tens of thousands of marine animals washed up dead on the UK’s east coast after last week’s freezing weather and storms, say conservationists.
Most of the marine wildlife, including crabs, starfish, and mussels, was found dead along the Holderness coast in Yorkshire.
The only survivors were the lobsters, said Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT).
Conservationists worked alongside local fishermen to try and save the lobsters' lives by transferring them to tanks nearby, where they can recover until the weather improves.
Bex Lynam, a North Sea Marine Advocacy Officer with YWT said the three-degree drop in sea temperatures caused the animals to slow down their activity levels, making them vulnerable to the choppy conditions.
“They became dislodged by large waves and washed ashore when the rough weather kicked in,” said Lynam.
Dead sea wildlife was also found at Norfolk’s Wildlife Trust’s Holmes Dunes reserves near Hunstanton. Gary Hibberd, local warden at the national nature reserve, said his team found animals they had never seen before including crabs, squat lobsters, starfish, sea anemones, sea cucumbers, sun stars, and whelks.