Starfish wash up in their thousands in Skegness

The beach at Gibraltar Point was tinted orange after thousands of starfish washed up during strong winds.
Matt Warman's photo of starfish washed up along the beach at Gibraltar Point, Skegness.Matt Warman's photo of starfish washed up along the beach at Gibraltar Point, Skegness.
Matt Warman's photo of starfish washed up along the beach at Gibraltar Point, Skegness.

The striking image here was captured by Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman during a walk along the beach.

He tweeted the image last week with the caption: “Huge numbers of starfish washed up at a very chilly Gibraltar Point this morning.”

But depite the odd sight, experts at Skegness Aquarium and Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust say it is a fairly common occurrence.

Aquarium curator Roxanne Prime said: “It’s common to find starfish washed up after a storm as the waves are too strong for them to stay attached to rocks and the sea bed using their tube feet. Since they can’t swim against the currents they then get carried away and wash up onto beaches and shores.”

Rachel Shaw from Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust said that while it is not unusual for starfish to wash up on the sands at Skegness, not many people would get to see such a large number as strandings tend to happen during stormy winter weather when not many visit the beach.

She added: “Once the tide goes back out they get left behind on the sand.”