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Scavengers try to steal whale teeth
SCAVENGERS are being warned they face prosecution if they're caught trying to steal the ivory teeth of a dead whale washed up on a North East beach.
The 35-tonne young sperm whale was discovered on rocks north of Beadnell, Northumberland, on Monday.
Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) staff have already turned away two men from County Durham who had been trying to take the 30ft whale's teeth.
Now they are guarding the mammal's remains while arrangements are made to remove it from the beach.
MCA spokesman Mark Clark said: "The whale is a protected species, and if people remove the teeth and trade them, then that's an offence."
Experts believe the whale mistakenly entered the North Sea and died of starvation.
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Weather for South Shields
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: -2 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South
