PICTURE GALLERY: Whale carcasses removed from Skegness beach

Jan Smith, of Welton Aggregates, led a team of 14 workers to remove the 30-tonne animals, which took just over five hours.

Two of the whales were found at Gibraltar Point on Sunday morning, with another reported later near Lagoon Walk. They had been moved to Central Beach because of the better access.

The last whale was loaded onto a low loader trailer and began the 106-mile journey to their final resting place - a landfill site at Sheffiend - at 1.30am.

Work began just after 8pm last night to attract fewer people but that did not stop crowds gathering around the site.

Among the spectators was Malcolm Scarborough from Boston, who went along with members of his family. He said: “It’s such a tragedy. I didn’t want to see it but did want to see it at the same time. It’s a rare opportunity to see a whale. You can’t imagine the size of the creatures.”

Supporting the team from Welton Aggregates were Coastguard volunteers from Skegness, Chapel and Wrangle and staff from East Lindsey District Council.

Pictures by David Dawson.