These are the bizarre images that purportedly show the remains of a ' mermaid ' that washed up on a British beach.

The gruesome images show the decaying body of a human-like creature with a fish tail lying on the sand in Great Yarmouth .

Its mid section appears to be rotting while the tail and head have stayed relatively intact.

Captured on camera by Paul Jones, the images have been shared hundreds of times on Facebook.

Mr Jones captioned the picture: "Today at Great Yarmouth we found what looks like a dead Mermaid washed up on the beach."

Its mid section appears to be rotting while the tail and head have stayed relatively intact (
Image:
Facebook/Paul Jones)
The gruesome images show the decaying body of a human-like creature with a fish tail lying on the sand in Great Yarmouth (
Image:
Facebook/Paul Jones)

Some conspiracy theorists who saw the picture were convinced the body was that of a real-life mermaid.

Others claimed it was more likely a dead seal with the East Coast having a large colony of grey seals, including one colony at Donna Nook, Lincs.

One commenter, Paige Cook, wrote 'Rip Ariel' in a reference to the Disney film The Little Mermaid.

Some conspiracy theorists who saw the picture were convinced the body was that of a real-life mermaid (
Image:
Facebook/Paul Jones)

There may be a more simple explanation too.

Mr Jones's Facebook profile shows him to be a keen modeller - particularly of creepy figures.

He is a member of the 'Horror and Halloween DIY' Facebook group.