The Canvey community is grieving the death of two pilot whales after they became stranded.

Police officers were called to the scene of two stranded pilot whales near the Point on Canvey at 8.45pm last night (4 October).

After one of the whales died, emergency services tried to save the second whale but, a specialist vet had determined it was too unwell to survive.

The decision was then made to euthanise the whale, to prevent any further suffering.

Detective Chief Superintendent, Morgan Cronin said “This is something no police officer wants to carry out.”

“Our emergency service partners had been working tirelessly to save the whale and I want to thank them for their efforts.

“Sadly, when it became clear to a specialist vet that this wasn’t going to be possible, they determined the most humane thing to do was prevent it from suffering any further and it should be euthanised.

“They also determined the chemicals that would usually be used could pose a risk to other wildlife should they get into the water, so another approach was needed.

“It is a hugely regretful thing to have to do but was in the best interests of the whale and I want to thank the public for their understanding.”

Canvey Island community members had been following the incident and are ‘devastated’ the whales didn’t make it.

 Hayley Cocksyne, 48, lives on Canvey lake and said: “. I learnt of the incident with the pilot whales early yesterday evening.”

“I was informed they were trying to preserve the life of the pilot whales until the incoming tide at 3am.

“I waited awake until 5am with no news and then slept until 7 am and posted on Joanne Stapleton page requesting and update and she unfortunately informed me that one whale died and the other was put to sleep.

“I along with a massive amount of Canvey residents were devastated so I took time in my own way to grieve to go sit with my feathered friends.”