CONTRACTORS spent yesterday on Old Hunstanton beach removing the dead sperm whale which has been there since Christmas Eve.

The whale, which became a tourist attraction, has been cut up and put into sealed skips which will take the parts to landfill.

A warning has been issued to visitors urging them not to touch the body, or allow their dogs to contact it directly, while the contractors cut up the mammal’s carcass, which has been decomposing on the sand.

The Health Protection Agency and Food Standards Agency issued a joint statement which also warned watersport participants to stay away.

Police yesterday confirmed they are taking no further action against a West Norfolk youth who advertised the teeth and jaw from the whale on Facebook.

A page appeared on the social network site selling 15 loose teeth and 11 still in the jaw at �5 each or �45 for the jaw. The page was removed once police were alerted to it.

A police spokesman said: “Inquiries continue into other reports of the theft and sale of whale remains linked to the sperm whale washed up on the beach at Old Hunstanton.”

The huge body became a ghoulish tourist attraction and thousands of people travelled to the Norfolk coast resort over the holiday to have a look.

The whale is believed to have died some time ago and is expected to have been completely removed from the beach in the next few days.