SHOCKED environmentalists have discovered large numbers of dead coral washed up on a Dorset beach.

Pink seafan is one of only two species of fan-coral found in UK waters and stretches along the Purbeck coast, with a few records of single fans in Poole Bay.

But it has been decimated in the west of the county with Dorset Wildlife Trust and Marine Conservation Society volunteers discovering a slaughter on an 18-mile stretch of beach.

The groups carrying out a wildlife survey on Chesil Beach were horrified to find 577 dead fans in just 590m - almost one per metre.

Since populations were decimated in the 1970s by divers collecting them as souvenirs, the coral - which is related to tropical soft corals - is a protected species.

But now it faces a new threat and could be another victim of fishing practises.

"Pink seafans are vulnerable to bottom trawling and entanglement in fishing nets," said DWT marine officer Julie Hatcher.

"No-one knows how many of these beautiful corals are in Lyme Bay.

"But if they continue washing up in such numbers they have an uncertain future," she said.

A stretch of rarely visited beach was visited, thanks to the army bridging camp at Wyke Regis transporting volunteers across the Fleet, and they intend to return to monitor it every three months.

"We don't know why these animals are dying in such large numbers but many are found tangled in fishing nets," said Steve Trewhella, MCS volunteer.

"They are one of the few marine species with legal protection, which goes to show that safety for marine wildlife is wholly inadequate."

First published: November 4, 2005