At 3.12pm today, Thursday 11 April, Morecambe RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew were tasked to proceed to Humphrey Head, where a porpoise was reported to have become stranded.
Coastguards were concerned that a number of people who had walked out to assist the animal were in danger of being cut off by the incoming tide.
A Morecambe RNLI spokesman said: “As there was no indication of the numbers involved, both the inshore lifeboat and inshore rescue hovercraft were launched. Arriving on scene they found that in fact three porpoises had become stranded; two of which had unfortunately died.
“The RNLI volunteers then assisted local coastguard teams and a volunteer from British Marine Life Rescue to lift the remaining porpoise into the hovercraft.
“The stricken animal was then transported further out into the Bay, where it was released and kept under observation until it had safely swum away into open water.”