The turtle was found washed up on Pendine sands

It was discovered by Carmarthenshire Council's beach warden John Neary on Saturday morning.

Experts said it was a Leatherback turtle and was probably fully grown.

The turtle is the latest in a large number of sea creatures, including a 40 tonne fin whale, to be found on beaches around Wales.

The marine strandings co-ordinator for Wales, Rod Penrose, was called to the scene following the discovery of the turtle.

"It measured 2.15m which is big and it was a male," he said.

"Unfortunately it was in an advanced state of decomposition so we won't be carrying out any examinations on it.

"The Leatherback is the only marine animal which can raise its body temperature.

"They seem to get washed up along this part of the coast usually between Pembrey, Pendine and Saudersfoot," he said.

John Neary, 49, who is the beach warden at Pendine, said that he found the turtle at around 0840BST on Saturday.

"It was upside down - it looks like a big leatherback turtle," he said.

"It's very unusual to see something like this here.

"Loads of people have been coming to have a look," he said.

Although the turtle found at Pendine was big, it came nowhere near the size of the world's largest leatherback turtle which was washed up on a north Wales beach in 1988.

The 2.75m-long (9ft) creature was found near Harlech, more than 7,500km (4,700 miles) from its birthplace in the West Indies.

The animal weighed more than 900kg (2,000lbs) and, at 100 years old, it was the oldest recorded turtle as well as the largest.

It was found dead in 1988 after it drowned whilst trapped by fishing lines.