The whale weighs more than 30 tonnes Click here for more pictures

Hundreds of people have visited the shore at St Brides in West Usk to see the carcass after it was discovered by a man walking his dog on Thursday.

The whale will be moved further up the beach on Saturday morning to a more accessible site before disposal.

Coastguards will be on the beach overnight to prevent people getting too close after children swam out to it and jumped off the body.

Sophia Exelby, the receiver of wreck - which is responsible for such items - has been working with Newport Council to try to dispose of the whale.

A very rare event Frank Sheahan, lighthouse owner

Work will start at 0600 BST on Saturday, when the whale will be moved further up the mudflats.

Contractors will dismember the carcass before it is put on to trucks and then taken away for incineration.

The operation is not expected to be finished until the end of the morning.

Some roads will be closed while the operation is carried out, although there will be places where people can watch.

Officials say there is also a health risk because of an open wound on the body. A post-mortem examination has been carried out.

Local bed and breakfast and lighthouse owner Frank Sheahan, who was one of the first on the scene, said the whale's end was sad, but he could understand why so many people had been to "a very rare event".

Disposal ideas had included burying the body at the spot where it was washed up, or using a barge or tug to pull it out to deeper water before taking it away.

The fin whale is the second largest animal in the world, behind the blue whale, and is an endangered species.