THE huge fin whale which was stranded ashore and later died at Carlyon Bay near St Austell on Monday evening has ended up in Liskeard.

The whale's sad and final journey to Peake (GB) Ltd, the incineration plant near Pengover, began from Par Docks on Wednesday afternoon.

Using specialist equipment, the 62ft whale was lifted on to a 106ft low loader.

After being covered in red and blue tarpaulin with only a small section of its tail on view, the slow journey began to Liskeard under police escort, and took more than two hours.

The whale, the second largest animal in the world after the blue whale, was towed through the sea to Par on Tuesday, where a post mortem was expected to take place.

The whale was kept floating overnight in the harbour

On arrival at Peakes, it took some time for the loader to negotiate the narrow lane, and traffic was held up on both sides of the road. A small section of hedge had to be removed so the loader could eventually get into the yard.

The fin whale, which is a globally endangered species, was the subject of a huge rescue effort, but it soon became apparent how ill the animal was and it sadly died.

Rescuers rushing to the whale's aid, including the public, were St Austell Coastguard Unit, the police, and British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

Coastguard section manager Matt Pavitt said: 'Seeing a whale of this size anywhere around the coast of Cornwall is rare. They are a deep water animal so seeing them this close is very rare indeed.

'It is a shame to see them like this. They are beautiful creatures and it's a shame when they end up on the beach.'