Washed-Up ‘Knee Cap’ On Cumbrian Beach Turns Out To Be Sea Potato.

An unusual callout on a South Cumbrian beach ended with a surprising discovery after an object initially believed to be a possible human knee cap was found to be a type of sea urchin.

The Furness Coastguard Rescue Team and Cumbria Police were called to the Earnse Bay area on Friday, September 11, following a report that what appeared to be part of a human body had washed ashore. The reported object was located quickly after the person who raised the alarm placed a washed-up traffic cone beside it. The marker helped the emergency crews identify the precise location and find the item without delay.

After examining the unusual object, crews determined that it was not a human knee cap. Instead, it appeared to be either sea pork or a sea potato, both of which are forms of sea urchin that can be found washed up along the coastline. Both the coastguard and police agreed that there was no human remains involved, bringing the unusual investigation to a reassuring conclusion.

The Furness Coastguard Rescue Team thanked the person who reported the object for raising their concerns and for taking the initiative to mark its location. The team said that reporting anything that could potentially be significant is important, even when the eventual explanation turns out to be far less serious.

The coastguard also offered advice for anyone who needs to accurately identify a location when reporting an incident. If a traffic cone or other physical marker is not available, people can use the What3Words app, which can provide a location accurate to a one-metre square.

What began as a potentially worrying discovery on the Cumbrian coast therefore turned into an unusual encounter with local marine life, with the mysterious “knee cap” ultimately revealed to be a sea potato rather than anything connected to a person.

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