WORKERS have been carrying out the grim task of dismantling the carcass of a fin whale that washed up at Fistral Beach on Wednesday.

Cornwall Council, as the beach owner, brought in specialist machinery including a truck and a digger to remove the 54ft juvenile whale.

Containers have been put in place at the beach car park to store the remains of the whale before they are taken away.

The unitary authority closed off the beach whilst the whale was removed as a 'safety precaution'.

Experts say there are organisms still living on the deceased whale and the blood can be toxic. 

Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Marine Strandings Network carried out a post-mortem on the fin whale.

Samples taken from the animal are being analysed to determine a cause of death.

Anthea Hawtrey-Collier, project officer for the Marine Strandings Network said the whale was in a “really poor nutritional state” and was not a well animal.

A cordon was put in place to keep the public at a safe distance ( Kate Thomson)

The trust said it could be weeks before the results of the post-mortem examination were known.

The huge fin whale had been spotted off the Cribbar on Tuesday behaving "strangely" as if it was ill before the animal became stranded the following day.

The fin whale is the second-longest species on Earth, after the blue whale, and are normally found in deep, offshore waters, primarily in temperate to polar latitudes.

Warning, some readers may find the next photograph distressing:

The whale's fin could be seen sticking out of the container (Kate Thomson)