The stranded sperm whale at Hunstanton died shortly after 8pm, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said.

The organisation said it's a "relief" because the whale had been suffering.

There will be a post-mortem examination on the whale in the morning.

Teams spent much of the day at the beach but said their main focus was making the whale comfortable as it had little chance of survival.

High tide arrived at 2.50pm, engulfing the whale but it was unable to move.

Even if it had returned to the sea, it was likely to become stranded again and would almost certainly die because of internal injuries suffered since coming ashore, the BDMLR added.

It is the sixth UK stranding in recent weeks and the 29th sperm whale to become stranded across Europe in the last two weeks.