Fishermen made the sad discovery of two dead dolphins washed up in Lulworth Cove, adding to a spate of recent deaths.

Lulworth Coastguard Rescue Team was contacted by local fishermen on Thursday evening with reports of two dolphins on the shore and the team investigated yesterday afternoon, after high tide.

A spokesman for the CRT said: "Sadly, the team found one dolphin half buried in the shingle and the jaw of another close by."

Measurements and photographs were taken and these were sent to Solent Coastguard's operations centre.

This comes after a number of reports of carcasses on the county's shores this winter, the most recent being at Stair Hole, Lulworth and at Chesil Cove, Portland last weekend.

Dorset Wildlife Trust's Chesil Centre Officer, Sarah Hodgson, said: “There are many reasons that could cause these animals to die, either simply due to natural causes or as a result of human activity such as by-catch from commercial fisheries, entanglement from ghost fishing-gear or pollution. However, without in-depth examinations we can only speculate.”