Tens of thousands of starfish wash up on British beach following extreme change in temperature

Thousands of dead starfish washed up on a British beach following the 'beast from the east' weather snap.

The spectacular scene in Ramsgate, Kent, was described as "like the armageddon" by wildlife enthusiast Lara Maiklem, 47, who photographed the phenomenon.

She estimated "hundreds of thousands" of starfish and other sea life were washed ashore this weekend following the spell of subzero temperatures.Lara travelled to the beach with her five-year-old twins, Edie and Beau.

And in a bizarre twist, they also discovered a pair of false teeth among the mass of dead wildlife.

She said: "It was incredible. There were starfish as far as the eye could see, there were fish in there and sea urchins."I think someone found a lobster in there as well - and some false teeth.

"It was amazing. I live on the coast but I spend most of my time in London mudlarking in the Thames.

"I had heard about the starfish so I went down. There were quite a lot of people.

"I think they were first swept up yesterday (SAT) and somebody told me they were there.

"I have never seen anything like that before."Lara, who is currently working on a book documenting her mudlarking, said the starfish stretched from Ramsgate to neighbouring beaches in Broadstairs.

Seagulls and other birds were also among the dead wildlife.

Lara added: "The beast killed quite a lot of creatures. We save as many as we could but it was like the armageddon."

She shared the pictures on her London Mudlark Facebook page, which has more than 30,000 followers.