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Courtesy Olaf www.flickr.com/photos/gradin/
An Atherfield resident is warning others after finding two Portuguese Man o' War on an Island beach.
Avid beachcomber Dick Downes told Isle of Wight Radio that he found the jellyfish-like creatures early on Friday morning as he looked for fossils at Chale.
Dick said: "I know how dangerous they are, so I've reported them to the coastguard. I think people should know that they can be very dangerous and give a very nasty sting to anyone who's reasonably healthy and in extreme circumstances could kill someone."
And Dick said: "About three or four years ago, we had quite a few wash in. I think I saw one last year, and these are the first two I've seen this year. I've spoken to the Coastguard and they said that there have been sightings of quite a lot of them out in the English Channel off the Isle of Wight. Once the winds start blowing onshore, quite a few of more could get washing in."
"We've had a lot of strong winds blowing across the Atlantic in a westerly direction, quite probably bringing a lot of them along that would normally stay out in the Gulf Stream, getting swept up into the English Channel," Dick warned.
Matthew Chatfield, parks and countryside manager at the Isle of Wight Council, said: "Beach users should be on the lookout for stranded man o’ war, which can appear as a purplish jelly-like blob, or a partly-deflated balloon.
"Should any wash up, keep pets and children away from them. The hazard to beach-users and their pets is extremely small, as the number of colonies reported is only a handful along the entire country.
"A man o’ war sting is rarely serious, but can be very painful, and in rare cases can lead to shock requiring immediate medical treatment. The tide will normally remove or cover any remains safely within a few hours. However, if large numbers of animals wash up, or if the tide fails to remove them, the council’s contractors are ready to take the necessary action.”
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