VIDEO: Dead whale moved from beach to landfill site in Sheffield

Three dead sperm whales which washed up on the Lincolnshire coast were removed from the beach at Skegness in a five-hour operation overnight.

A team of 14 workers started the process at Skegness just after 8pm last night and finished at 1.30am today.

The whales, believed to weigh around 30 tons, were taken to landfill sites in Sheffield, Didcot an Oxfordshire.

They are believed to be part of the same pod as others found in Hunstanton, Norfolk, and Wainfleet, Lincolnshire.

Contractor Jan Smith: said: “It’s gone very well really. The last one where the flaps had been cut open for the autopsy was hard work.

“You can’t really plan what you are going to do because you don’t know if they are likely to blow up or something. All that you can do is treat them with the utmost respect.”

Hundreds of people have been to see the whales in the town since they were discovered.

Workers spent Tuesday moving the creatures and covering them with sand before their removal.

The whales were then put on to low loaders, wrapped in a tarpaulin and transported to the landfill sites.