Children celebrating England's World Cup win tried desperately to save a dolphin which became stranded on a beach.

The white-sided Atlantic dolphin attracted crowds as it swam close to the shore at Newhaven.

But their delight turned to concern when it became stranded on West Beach at low tide.

For an hour, children and parents ferried buckets of seawater to keep the distressed mammal cool and wet until help arrived.

But the dolphin, usually found in freezing Icelandic waters, became increasingly weak and was put down.

Jane Monk, 45, still dressed in her England shirt after watching Saturday's World Cup match against Denmark, led the makeshift rescue effort, supported by her daughter, Emily, 11, Laura Gettings, 12 and her sisters Joanna, nine, and eight-year-old Kelsey.

She said: "We had all come down to the beach after the match to let off some steam and that's when we saw the dolphin.

"We were all so excited to see it swimming about so close to us but as the water got more shallow we realised it was in trouble.

"In only a few minutes the poor thing was stuck fast in the sand and we knew we had to do something."

While one beachcomber called for help on a mobile phone, others joined forces in a bid to save the dolphin.

Mrs Monk, from Peacehaven, said: "It was amazing to see strangers all pulling together, desperately trying to save this creature."

Firefighters arrived to help douse the dolphin with water while animal rescuers began assessing how to move it back to the sea.

Alan Knight, from British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said: "Unfortunately the dolphin was very thin and weak which probably caused it to come so far inshore.

"We did everything we could to save it but we had to make the assessment that it wasn't going to make it and it would be more humane to put it to sleep.

"The members of the public who tried to save it did a brilliant job, as did the firefighters who had one of their most unusual call-outs."

The carcass was yesterday taken to London Zoo for an autopsy to ascertain the cause of death.

Mr Knight added: "Due to the climate and the fact people report sightings much more now, we are seeing more and more dolphins in the Channel these days but this was white-sided Atlantic dolphin which must be a first."