Volunteers try to save whales

Hundreds of volunteers were today pouring water on 55 stranded pilot whales to try to keep them alive.

The mammals became stuck too close to shore at Cape Cod in Massachusetts during low tide this morning and were unable to make it back to deeper waters.

Members of the Cape Cod Stranding Network joined holidaymakers at Chapin Beach to try to keep the whales moist until high tide later today.

This is one of the largest mass strandings of pilot whales in the area for a decade. Experts said it was rare to see the mammals beached at this time of year.