A RESIDENT made a strange discovery while out for some solitary exercise in Musselburgh during the coronavirus lockdown on Sunday.

Linda Wilkinson came across hundreds of dead starfish all along the beach, to the west of Fisherrow Harbour.

She said: “The sea was calm.

“Literally there were hundreds of dead starfish at least the size of an adult’s hand.”

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “Our countryside rangers are uncertain but suggest that sustained very rough weather in relatively shallow water will have dislodged them and certain temperatures cause die off of different species.”

A spokesperson for the Marine Conservation Society added: “The stranding of the starfish is likely due to the weather we’ve experienced over the last week or so.

“We’ve had high pressure and associated easterly/north-east winds for over a week now, not quite on the scale of the Beast from the East but strong enough to probably cause these mass strandings.

“Whilst coming across these strandings isn’t pleasant, it’s worth remembering that they are a normal part of life in the sea.”