43. Hundreds of plastic cups
Hundreds of disposable plastic cups followed the sodden biscuits as more cargo spilled overboard from the stricken ferry. The cups were so light they were scattered and blown everywhere, with people reportedly finding cups for years afterwards.
44. Bags of expired paracetamol
If thousands of chocolate biscuits and hundreds of plastic cups weren’t enough, bags of out-of-date paracetamol being shipped back for disposal also tumbled off the grounded ship. Photo: Arria Belli
45. Mermaid’s purses
Mermaid’s purses are another oddity that appears on some British shorelines. These pouch-like things are egg cases of sharks and rays.
46. Baby dolphin
A baby dolphin was saved after being found washed up - but alive - on the beach opposite Norbreck Castle in June 2016. With the help of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue team, RNLI Blackpool and the public, police were able to release the harbour porpoise into the water where it reportedly swam back out to sea. Photo: Blackpool Police
47. Unexploded ‘bomb’
A metal object measuring around four inches long and an inch-and-a-half inch wide was uncovered by a metal detector-user in July 2019. The device was found by lifelong metal detectorist Alistair Wilks, 51, and his partner Kath Firth, 60, close to the Mirrorball in South Shore, blackpool. The couple suspected it was an unexploded mortar, and the Coastguard put a 20 metre cordon in place while explosive experts from the military dealt with the mysterious object. Photo: Alistair Wilks
48. Tiny clear blobs of jelly
Thousands of tiny blobs of jelly washed up on the beach in Blackpool in 2020. It was initially believed that the creatures were salps, a primitive type of marine invertebrate. However, Debbie Williams, Lancashire’s Living Seas Project Officer, said they were more likely to be Sea Gooseberries - a type of comb jelly. Photo: Michael Holmes