Injured whale trapped in sea loch

Blood was seen around the area of the dorsal fin

A badly injured whale has become trapped in a large sea loch on the west side of Lewis.

The adult northern bottled-nosed whale, an endangered species, was discovered in Loch Roag at about 0900 BST.

It was beached for a short period during the low spring tide but later managed to get back into the water.

The seven-tonne creature was swimming around the loch, but blood was seen around its dorsal fin and in the water as efforts to assist it got under way.

By midday, the whale had moved into the deeper middle channel of the loch and there were hopes that it may swim out to the open sea.

Specialist equipment

However, it only got as far as Keave, an uninhabited island opposite Breasclete, when it turned back on the incoming tide.

It stayed close to the islet and appeared to head further inland towards shallower water by a mussel farm at Great Bernera.

When its blue-grey back and dorsal fin did not break the water surface, repeated streams of moist air spouting out of its blow hole helped mark its course around the loch.

It was later seen heading in the direction of open water, but it was not clear whether it had managed to escape back to the ocean..

A number of fishing and fish farm boats which work on the loch kept clear.

Volunteers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue have gone to the scene with specialist equipment, with coastguards and police also monitoring the whale.

It is very dangerous to go near a beached whale, so it was just a case of keeping an eye on it Coastguard spokeswoman

Northern Constabulary asked the public to stay away from the area until further notice because of the risk of contamination from the whale's injuries.

A spokeswoman for British Divers Marine Life Rescue: "We have lost sight of the whale but it did appear to be heading in the direction of the open sea. It didn't look in very good condition at all unfortunately."

Normally, the species are found in deep waters in the North Atlantic where they travel in groups of up to 10.

Last year, a female bottle-nosed whale died after becoming stranded in the River Thames.