THEY are called common Dolphins – but sightings of the marine mammals in Hampshire are few and far between.

Now three of the creatures have been spotted in the Solent area in the past few days.

One was found dead on the shoreline near Lymington and two others were seen swimming alongside container ships in Southampton Water the next day.

Wildlife experts say the live dolphins are also in danger of becoming stranded and are urging people visiting the Hampshire coast this weekend to report any sightings.

Despite their name, common Dolphins are rare visitors to inshore waters.

The three seen in the Solent area may have headed inshore after falling ill or becoming disorientated by the noise made by shipping.

The one washed up at Oxey Marsh, Lymington, was found and photographed by Marcus Ward, co-founder of the Wild New Forest project.

He said: “I went for a walk on Wednesday and saw it lying on its side near the seawall, with its flipper sticking out of the water.

“It wasn’t moving and was clearly dead, but there were no obvious signs of injury.”

A post-mortem examination will be carried out at the Zoological Society of London in a bid to establish the cause of death.

Marcus added: “Any common Dolphin found in the Solent is likely to be in distress.

“It’s a deep-water creature that’s rarely seen in shallow, inter-tidal areas. It’s not comfortable in that type of environment and there’s not much food.”

Prof Russell Wynn, associate director at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, added: “Common Dolphins are usually only seen in our region when they’re either dead or distressed. It’s therefore possible that the two in Southampton Water will also strand in the coming days.”

Live strandings should be reported to British Divers’ Marine Life Rescue on 01825 765546 or 07787 433412.

Anyone who finds a dead dolphin should call the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme on 0800 652 0333.