Tens of thousands of starfish were found washed up on a beach in Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire after days of stormy seas.

A line of the sea creatures stretched for hundreds of yards along the sand. They are believed to have been washed ashore after rough seas in recent days ripped them from the seabed.

Trevor Bradford was walking his Yorkshire terrier on the beach when he stumbled upon the stranded pink invertebrates.

“I've never seen that many,” said the 69-year-old freelance photographer. “There was a carpet of them as far as the eye could see. It went on for a good 200 yards and the thickest parts of it were about 10 yards across. Over the last few days, the tides have been really rough. I don't often see it that stormy around here.

“The weather hasn't been that windy, but there have been some rough tides that have made it a bit treacherous for people walking on the beach.”

Mr Bradford, who lives in Mablethorpe with his wife Penny, 74, a retired Co-op worker, added: “I would say there were at least 100,000 because the length of the line of them. They were quite small. They were only about four to five inches across at the most.”

Tens of thousands of starfish washed up on on the beach at Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire. (Trevor Bradford/SWNS)

The father of two added: ”Occasionally you get a few hundred washed up but never a massive amount like this. I've been here 26 years now and I've never seen it to that extent.”

It is at least the second time this year that starfish have washed up in the area, with a hoard of them appearing in January during Storm Eleanor.