Alert over ‘Man of War’ sightings

Beachgoers have been warned after creatures that look like the venomous Portuguese Man of War have washed up on the British coast.

With distinctive transparent bodies, the creature is often thought to be a jellyfish, but is actually a siphonophore – a colony of tiny specialised polyps and medusoids.

The UK Coastguard is warning people to stay safe after reports of jellyfish – which resemble the Portuguese Man of War – washing up on beaches in Dorset and Devon.