A sperm whale which died after becoming stranded in the Thames estuary has been moved.

The mammal was first spotted off the coast of Whitstable on Thursday, before it headed towards Sheppey.

It began swimming with the rising tide into The Swale - a tidal channel of the estuary, which is visible from the headland near Conyer, Sittingbourne.

Medics from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) monitored the whale’s movements and behaviour, and described it as appearing “distressed and confused” when it found itself trapped in shallow waters.

The whale continued to be monitored until it was found dead on Saturday morning.

A BDMLR spokesman said: “Just before midday we received news via the Marine Police Unit that the whale had been found, unfortunately it had fully stranded and died.”

He added that the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme would work with Peel Ports and HM Coastguard to secure the body for examination.

Peel Ports confirmed the whale carcass was just off of the Sheppey shoreline, near Fowley Island in The Swale, between Elmley and Harty.

A vessel went out to the whale on yesterday evening and towed it to ground.

This morning, a Peel Ports spokesman confirmed the carcass had been moved.

“The whale is now within the port area,” he added, awaiting marine scientists to do their job.

It was originally thought the creature was a minke whale or possibly a humpback, but inspection of photos taken by eyewitnesses concluded it was a sperm whale.

A BDMLR spokesman said: “We do not know the sex of the whale but stranded sperm whales in the UK are nearly always male.

“There was case of a female stranding in Cornwall some years ago but that was very unusual.”

Sperm whales have distinctive features including prominent rounded foreheads, according to National Geographic, and the largest brain of any creature known to have lived on Earth.

Read more: All the latest news from Sheppey

Read more: All the latest news from Whitstable