RESIDENTS in Whitehaven awoke to a huge shock this morning, as a whale was seen to be beached in the corner of the town's harbour.

After further inspection into the creature on the sand- the whale was found to not be real.

Rather, a sculpture from the Belgian art collective Captain Boomer Collective to make a statement about the environment and climate change.

The sculture is touring the world, having most recently appeared in Redcar.

The aim of the project from the group  is to encourage debate about environmental issues such as pollution of seas and climate change.