A suspected sighting of a porpoise in Bridgwater led to a call-out for a crew from Burnham-On-Sea’s BARB Search & Rescue on Tuesday (October 24th).
BARB, which has several trained marine mammal medics among its volunteers, was contacted by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), an internationally recognised marine animal rescue organisation, after a call was received from a member of the public.
The crew headed to a bridge over the River Parrett on the A38 Broadway to investigate the possible sighting.
“A thorough search of a stretch of the river and its banks found no sign of the mammal,” said a BARB spokesman.
“It’s believed that debris floating in the river was mistaken for the shape of a porpoise and the incident was treated as a call-out with good intent.”
BDMLR thanked the crew for investigating the sighting, adding that it is not uncommon for porpoise to be found in river estuaries around the UK.
