CEFN Sidan beach Pembrey is being invaded by stinging jellyfish like creatures following Atlantic hurricanes and extreme weather conditions.
Beach walkers with their pets and beachcombers on the Carmarthenshire coast are being warned to exercise care and not come in contact with the Portuguese man-of-war.
Parents taking children to the beach have been warned to exercise “extreme caution”.
Swimmers, surfers and fishermen entering the water are being advised to wear full body suits to protect themselves, while County executive board member for tourism Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths said: “More than 50 of the stinging creatures have been found over a two-mile section of the eight-miles long beach. “Rangers have erected signs to warn people entering the beach from Pembrey Country Park “The jellyfish-like creatures have tentacles which can deliver painful stings.
They appear like deflated balloons on sand and in shallow water and range in colour from deep purples to pink.” The invasion across the whole of the south coast is the biggest concentration of Portuguese man-of-war in 15 years following hurricanes and extreme windy weather conditions which take the surface water floating creatures wildly off course.
The Marine Conservation Society advise leaving the strandings untouched and to evaporate in situ on the beach. They can sting weeks after having washed ashore.
Portuguese man-of-war are usually found in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, have purple tentacles which can reach up to fifty meters below the ocean’s surface.
