Stranded whale in Thames put down after suffering injuries

Minke whale made it as far as Teddington, south-west London, but rescue teams were unable to save it

As crowds gathered along the banks of the Thames around Teddington weir to catch a glimpse of the little whale that had lost its way upriver, the mood gradually became tinged with sadness at the realisation that the baby minke would probably never make it back out to sea.

The calf had first got stranded on Richmond lock's boat rollers on Sunday evening. It was finally freed by rescue teams around 1am but wriggled free from the inflatable rescue raft and went missing, before being spotted again in Teddington late on Monday morning.