A SECOND dead whale has been found in North Berwick.

Last month, a dead minke whale was spotted near North Berwick Harbour.

It later came ashore on the town's West Beach, before a recovery effort was launched by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) alongside East Lothian's Countryside Rangers.

This morning (Sunday), East Lothian Council confirmed "a badly decomposed minke whale" had been washed up on the same beach but further west.

East Lothian Courier: The whale has been found on the beach at North BerwickThe whale has been found on the beach at North Berwick (Image: East Lothian Council)

READ MORE: North Berwick: Bid to remove dead whale from beach ends in failure

A spokesperson for the local authority said: "A cordon will be put in place while arrangements are made to remove it and people are advised to maintain an appropriate distance and to keep dogs away."

The spokesperson confirmed the whale was in "an advanced state of decomposition" and added: "It is 18ft (6m) long, and initial investigations show no obvious signs of injury such as entanglement of struck by boat.

"It was first spotted out at sea on Friday afternoon and washed ashore overnight."

The whale was removed from the beach shortly before 1pm.

The previous whale, which was a female minke whale, measured about 9.5m in length.

BDMLR took samples in a bid to determine the cause of death, although there was no "entanglement or evidence of a propeller or boat strike".