10,000 starfish wash up on Norfolk coast

[dutchman]

Over 10,000 starfish have died after washing up on a beach in North Norfolk.

The creatures are believed to have been forced onto the land by high tide during heavy storms. They can only live for a few hours out of water and are thought to have gathered in shallow waters to feed.

Local pharmacist dispenser Margaret Wright told The Times: "The sight of all these little creatures dying on the beach was horrendous. We only went on a short walk and found a starfish graveyard.

"It's a long stretch of beach and there were just thousands of them littering the shore line for as far you could see.

She added: "The funny thing is that further down the beach we found a starfish which was still alive and put him back in the water.

"Now he's not going to have any friends - he's going to be floating around out there by himself."

Nigel Croasdale from Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary, explained: "This type of thing may happen once a year, depending on the weather. When the tide returns, the bodies are usually washed back into the sea."