A 30ft whale calf which became stranded in the Dee Estuary for three days has sadly died, rescuers have confirmed.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue confirmed the news shortly before 11.30am on Sunday after the fin whale restranded late last night on a sand bank near the Dee Estuary mouth on the outgoing tide.

It has been found stranded once again this morning and a team from the Coastguard and a licensed drone pilot with permission to fly the area have been observing it from a distance.

A British Divers Marine Life Rescue spokesperson said: "Sadly, though expected, there appear to be no signs of life left.

"Once again we would reiterate that members of the public must abide by Covid-19 guidelines against gathering in groups and in Wales there is a 5-mile travel limit still in force too.

"The area is extremely dangerous due to tides and quicksand and we would strongly urge that people must not enter the estuary in any kind of attempt to get near it and put themselves in unnecessary danger.

"Nobody has any need or reason to go near it now except for the authorities from Natural Resources Wales who are now involved with retrieving the body. We are in contact with our colleagues at the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme- UK strandings regarding the possibility of a post mortem examination that may be able to take place to help us all learn more about this animal."

The calf was first discovered on Friday before successfully being pushed back out to sea. However it was found stranded again on Saturday morning and - despite the best efforts of rescuers - its prospects of survival were said to be looking very bleak on Saturday evening.