The body of the 20ft humpback whale was spotted on the beach

Director of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, Mark Stevens, said samples were being sent to London after the weekend, to establish cause of death.

The body of the 20ft humpback whale was spotted on Kingsdown Beach near Deal on Thursday morning by passers by.

Mr Stevens said the Isle of Thanet was a whale stranding hotspot for the UK.

Speaking to BBC Radio Kent, a day after the whale was found, he said it was still a rare event to find a humpback whale in the region.

We don't tend to have large whales Mark Stevens

"These animals generally live off the west coast of northern Scotland, up there in the Atlantic.

"We did have a live one stranded six or seven years ago in Sandwich."

He said it was not uncommon for whales to be hit by propellers as this one had been, but they were incidents that usually happened in other parts of the world.

He said: "It is not so common in the UK, because we don't tend to have large whales.

'Health risk'

"But there was a report the other day of a whale hit by a ferry in Japan, and there have been several instances in the Canary Islands of local whales being struck by boats."

He said rescue teams stayed with the body until the tide reached it on Thursday evening, because of the risk to public health.

Samples are due to be sent to the Zoological Society of London after the Bank Holiday weekend.

It is thought the animal may have died before suffering a gash to its side.