Jellyfish spark beaches alert

Lion's Mane jellyfish have a nasty sting

Beachgoers are being warned to be extra careful due to an unusually high number of jellyfish in Northern Ireland's waters.

Hundreds of the stinging Lion's Mane variety have been washed up on the shores of County Down.

Crawfordsburn Country Park has put up signs warning of the threat.

Joe Breen of the Environment and Heritage Service, said while they gave painful stings the jellyfish were not life threatening.

"As a diver you would certainly be very wary of them, they can give you a nasty, nasty sting," he said.

"But if you are just swimming, certainly in shallow water, they pull their tentacles up so you are not really going to get a bad sting - you might come out with a bit of a rash like a nettle sting but nothing too serious - it won't kill you."

He said that what was of more concern was the danger that young children walking along the beach may get hurt.

The Lion's Mane retracts it tentacles in shallow water (picture EHS)

"I've seen young children going along and saying 'a jellyfish, I'll drop a stone on it' not realising that by dropping a stone on it, it can actually splash, like a puddle," he said.

"If you do get these stings in your eyes it could give you a seriously sore eye."

The Lion's Mane, which are red or rust coloured, are armed with an unpleasant sting that can be extremely painful.

The problem is not limited to the Crawfordsburn area with smacks of up to 200 jellyfish being reported a little further up the lough.