Concern as large pod of whales spotted in Hebridean sea loch

A pod of between 25 and 30 whales was spotted in a sea loch close to the South Uist hore, the coastguard said today.

Stornoway Coastguards are now monitoring the pod, thought to be pilot whales, and said that they were "very close" to the shore in Loch Carnan, South Uist, in the Western Isles.

The pod was thought to be about only about 980ft (300 metres) from the shore.

The first sighting was made by a member of the public, who reported the large number of the mammals to Stornoway Coastguard yesterday afternoon.

The Coastguard Rescue Team observed the pod from the shore until darkness fell.

This morning, coastguards from Benbecula returned to Loch Carnan where the pod was seen, still in deep water, but only 300 metres from shore.

Local organisations such as the SSPCA and British Divers Marine Live Rescue (BDMLR) were alerted.

Martin Collins, coastguard watch manager, said: "None of the whales have stranded but it is unclear why such a large number have come so close inshore.

"It's just a waiting game at the moment to see what develops and we have the expertise and resources in place to assist if any of the whales do come ashore.

"The whales are being left alone, no boats are going near them and we are continuing to monitor the situation from the shore with the other organisations."