A BABY dolphin has died surrounded by horrified tourists at a famous UK beach.
Beachgoers were distraught after a failed attempt to rescue the young bottlenose dolphin in St Ives Harbour, Cornwall yesterday.
The dolphin is thought to have lost its pod before it got stranded on a sandbank.
A witness said that young children looked on as the trapped dolphin swam around in circles before the tide went out.
They told the : "It had been swimming in very close water and couldn't get over a sand bank to get into deep water.
"A team of rescuers went to try and save it but sadly it didn't look as though they managed to."
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Around seven people went out to the dolphin after arriving at the scene - but their efforts to save it were in vain.
After 45 minutes a vehicle took the dolphin's body away from the sandbank.
Known as "The Island" despite being a headland, St Ives is popular with dolphin-spotters.
Both common and bottlenose dolphins feed on shoals swimming off the seaside town's shores.
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It comes after coastguards issued an urgent warning to avoid a popular tourist beach - after a heartbreaking discovery.
The body of a 30ft minke whale was found washed up on the shore of Romney Marsh in Kent last month.
Locals were told not to approach it - as they could get caught in dangerous quicksand.
Common minke whales can weigh as much as 5,600kg - more than a family car.
Dozens of starry smooth-hound sharks washed up on another UK beach - and no one knows why.