Hundreds more starfish washed up

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Hundreds of dead starfish have been washed up on a south coast beach days after large numbers were found off the east Kent coast.

The creatures were found at Black Rock, near Brighton Marina, 10 days after thousands of dead starfish were spotted between Sandwich and Pegwell Bay, Kent.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said its officers were visiting the marina to inspect the starfish.

There would then be an investigation to see why they had been washed up.

"These have appeared since the storms, so we are looking into whether this is due to the weather conditions or if there is another reason behind it," the spokeswoman said.

The agency is still analysing the reasons for the appearance of such large numbers of dead starfish in Kent.

It has ruled out any link to climate change or pollution but said they could have been disturbed on the sea bed while feeding.

Another theory is that they were washed up or discarded by fishermen on the shore following mussel dredging.