Three sperm whales were beached in Skegness, Lincolnshire, Jan 24, and another at Hunstanton, Norfolk, a day before.

The four tragic whales found washed up on British beaches are believed to be part of the same all-male group as 12 more found dead around Holland and Germany last week.

British experts say the three males found in Lincolnshire and one in Norfolk are part of a bachelor pod that ventured into the North Sea from deeper water and were unable to feed in shallower depths.

Twelve more sperm whales, also all male, were found washed up off the coast of the Dutch island of Texel and the German islands of Wangerooge and Helgoland last week.

Pods can include more than 20 of the 30-tonne animals, and it is believed that all of them may die after venturing into a stretch of water that is almost impossible to escape without going back the way they came.

Experts from the Zoological Society of London say that this is a common mistake, but a mass stranding of this scale hasn't happened in decades.