A giant 20 metre long fin whale who stranded on a beach in Cornwall has sadly died.

She was found at Carolyn Bay in St Austell yesterday and a group of experts from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue group were called to help.

They were joined by hundreds of people who wanted to get involved in the rescue but the whale was found to be ‘incredibly undernourished’ and not well enough to survive back at sea. Vets decided that it was kinder to put her to sleep, but she died before they could.

Faye Archell from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue group said: “It would be wrong for us to put a sick animal back into the sea.”

Fin whales are the second largest animals on the planet after the blue whale, and can reach up to 27 metres in length.

Around 30 different species of whales and dolphins can be found in UK and European waters, included some of the largest whales such as the fin whale, sperm whale and even the blue whale.