THE giant whale washed up on the Gwent shoreline was being removed and destroyed today despite last-minute pleas to preserve it forever.

Thousands of people who poured into St Brides, Newport, to see the 60-foot fin whale, were left heartbroken after the decision was taken to dispose of the creature's body.

The Argus was flooded with calls throughout yesterday by members of the public calling for the whale bones to go on permanent display in Newport for future generations to marvel at.

But at 6am today, contractors were moving in to cut up the carcass before taking it away for incineration.

Earlier there had been confusion over who was responsible for the 30-tonne mammal.

But Sophia Exelby, receiver of wrecks - the official responsible for washed-up items - decided on disposal for "environmental reasons".

It is thought the whale will be moved further up the mudflats before the six-hour operation starts to cut up the body by a team from a local abattoir.

Earlier, officials had discussed burying the body where it was washed up, or using a barge or tug to pull it out to deeper water before taking it away.

Among those who called for the preservation of the skeleton was veteran campaigner Charles Ferris, who instigated the campaign for the restoration of the Newport Ship, and South Wales East AM William Graham.

Mr Ferris said: "These attractions could be a major exhibit and a golden opportunity has been wasted.

"A wonderful gift from the sea has been allowed to slip through our fingers."

William Graham added: "The attraction of this creature would have provided another opportunity to capitalise on the maritime history of Newport."

A post-mortem examination was carried out by experts from the Natural History Museum in London, and it is thought the whale had been ill for some time, although how it turned up in St Brides is still a mystery.

Traffic had been building up around the site ever since the Argus first broke the story of the find on Thursday.

Thousands of people from across South Wales have been to see the creature, and described it as a "once-in-a- lifetime" experience.

A spokeswoman for Newport council said it had no responsibility for disposing of the whale, but were paying removal costs.

The mammal is officially Crown property.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said that when a whale is washed up it becomes known as "fishes royal".

He said: "When such fish are caught or washed up, either dead or alive, the Crown has a right to claim them."

Some roads will be closed while the operation is carried out, but there will be places where people can watch.

Officials had warned of a possible health risk because of an open wound on the whale's body, and there had been reports of children jumping from the body.

Coastguards were at the scene all night to prevent people getting too close.

Among those who went to look at the whale by torchlight last night were Alan Pewtner, 63, from St Brides, who said: "This whale should definitely be preserved, it is not something I have ever seen in my lifetime before. Cutting it up is just awful."

And Mark Davies, 40, from Cwmbran, said: "Something like this may never happen again. We shouldn't waste the chance to preserve this."

Susan Davies, 38, from Cwmbran, added: "As soon as we heard about it we decided to bring the children down and explain to them."