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A family found a dead shark washed up on the beach in Blackpool.

A family from Scotland holidaying in the resort found the deceased shark at around 5pm near Central Pier on Thursday.

Mum Dani Lowther, 27, said her two children, aged one and three, made the discovery as they were playing in the water.

“We thought it was a pipe or even an eel at first,” she said.

“We had a closer look but didn't want to pick it up as it could have stung my children.

“I realised it was a shark. I wondered if there were any bigger ones swimming around closer to the shore as this was the second one we found.”

The shark is believed to be a small-spotted catshark which are common around the UK and live close to the seabed in shallow waters down to 100m deep.

In fact, sometimes you might find them on the menu at fish and chip shops, usually under the name ‘rock salmon’.

They sometimes wash up dead on beaches after storms, but you're most likely to come across one of their egg cases.

Known as mermaid's purses, shark (and ray and skate) egg cases are a good indicator of what species are breeding nearby.

The small-spotted catshark has a small eggcase (5-7cm) with curly tendrils at each corner.

Adults can reach a length of 80cm and are harmless to people, feeding mainly on crabs, cockles and whelks on the seabed.

The small-spotted catshark is identified by their very rough, pale cream skin, large dark cat-like eyes and a small mouth.

Family find dead shark washed up on beach in Blackpool