There was a sad ending for one stranded dolphin this weekend as it had to be put down when sunburn caused a blister "the size of a rugby ball."

Canoeist Max Sothcott found the mammal in reeds at the side of the River Kennall, after hearing its cries as he paddled along near the Norway Inn on Saturday morning.

He said: "I heard this really strange noise from the undergrowth, I looked in and, lo and behold, there was a 150 centimetre long dolphin that had stranded in the river and managed to get itself into the undergrowth."

Max called his wife, who found a number for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, and a first responder arrived less than 15 minutes after he had called them.

After half an hour he said there were about six in wetsuits, "who got into the water and invaded a garden of a house that backs onto the river."

"They had the poor beast out of the water," Max said, "and a vet came down from Playing Place. "It had a really bad blister on its back, between the blow hole and the dorsal fin, the size of a rugby ball.

"I'm told that they are very prone to sunburn if they come ashore, particularly this time of year."

The vet decided that the best thing for the dolphin would be to euthanise it, as it could not be put back into the water in that state because it would be, as Max described it "like live bait."

He praised the team from the BDMLR, saying they were "awesome", and added: "To do that sort of response for an animal in distress, at that time on a Saturday morning, really was above and beyond the call of duty. They really knew what they were doing."