Warning as deadly Portuguese man-o'-war spotted on Britain's coastline

Deadly: Portuguese man-o'-war
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Jamie Micklethwaite23 September 2016

British beachgoers have been warned to avoid the deadly Portuguese man-o’-war after several sightings across the south coast.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said the creatures could be appearing at beaches across the UK after verifying sightings in Cornwall and the Scilly Islands.

Despite looking like a jellyfish, the man-o’-war delivers an extremely painful sting which has proven to be fatal in some cases.

The creatures are usually found in the surface waters of the open ocean but are sporadically found on British beaches.

The MCS has warned families not to let their children near the creature, which has the appearance of a “deflated purple balloon”.

The last sightings of the creature in the UK were in 2009 and 2012 when several of the creatures washed up on beaches across the English and Welsh coastline.

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