A YOUNG minke whale that became separated from its mother was killed humanely on the beach at Dalgety Bay after a six-hour rescue mission ultimately failed.

The calf was stranded on the shore twice on Saturday and although British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), UK Coastguard and Police Scotland all rushed to the scene to help, the decision was taken to put it out of its misery around 3pm.

A crowd of onlookers witnessed the tragic scene at St David's and experts told the Press they had no choice.

Paul Smith, Fife co-ordinator for BDMLR, said: "It was all done under veterinary advice and it was the right thing for the animal.

"It was going to die. It wasn't able to go back, it was severely compromised and had already suffered so badly."

The whale was more than three metres long and he continued: "It was a maternally-dependent calf, it had become separated from mum for whatever reason.

"Going by its body condition and demeanour, it wasn't swimming and was literally floating, it had been separated for some time and made no attempt to escape.

"We got in the water with it, tried to stabilise it, did some first aid and took some measurements, we spoke to the vet and the decision was taken to try and give it a go and see if its condition improved.

"But, after further assessment, it was just not viable and the decision was taken to euthanise.

"You can't put a maternally-dependent calf back in the water. All you're going to do is prolong the agony, it will starve, dehydrate and wash up on the beach."

Paul Ellard, an actor from Dunfermline, was at the beach with his wife and six kids when the drama unfolded.

He took the photos shown here and said: "Everyone was standing around the car park and there was a police van and people from the flats outside.

"We looked over and could see there was a whale lying on the beach, it was so far in it seemed there was nothing else they could do for it.

"Shortly after, a lady came over to the car park, she was able to give us some information, that it was a young minke whale that couldn't be saved.

"She said that kids may want to look away and her words were, 'You know what happens next'."

He continued: "It was one shot. Its tail went straight up in the air and then flopped down.

"It's not every day you go out and see a whale being shot.

"Our seven-year-old was a bit upset.

"The kids have watched a lot of Blue Planet and Planet Earth, they know it's the circle of life and even in Disney it's not all happiness, but they've never seen them close up before and in Fife.

"Seeing it makes it more real."

A dog-walker reported to the SSPCA that the mammal had stranded and BDMLR were first notified about 8.30am.

Mr Smith said: "During our mobilisation, the whale was reported as refloated. We still responded and found it had moved round the corner to the next bay at St David's.

"It was in shallow water, just drifting and not moving.

"Initially, it was reported as a porpoise but when we got there we knew straight away it was much bigger and that it was a minke whale.

"We closed the beach off and did what we could.

"Minke whales are the most common whales round the UK and they're in the Forth all the time, it's just that people don't always see them as they're low-profile."

He thanked local coastguard units, Police Scotland and members of the public for their assistance.