A coastguard team recovered a dead Leatherback turtle that had been washed up on Wednesday.

The South Woodham Coastguard crew responded to reports of the vulnerable turtle after a walker spotted it by Mundon Creek.

It was announced recently deceased after the crew arrived around 3pm.

A spokesman said: “Following conversations with the UK Cetacean Stranding’s Investigation Programme (CSIP) it was agreed to return on Thursday morning to recover the turtle.

“The recovery team consisted of Coastguards, members of the CSIP, and the adjacent farm owners, who worked together to carefully lift the quarter tonne turtle over the sea wall for transport to the Natural History Museum for examination and possible preservation.”

South Woodham Coastguard Station Officer, Andrew Dale, said: "At 1.7m long we have no record of such a sighting on the East Coast before.”

According to IUCN, Leatherback status is globally listed as Vulnerable, but many subpopulations are Critically Endangered.