A whale was freed from Richmond lock early this morning but its condition is still unknown.

The London Fire Brigade said that the whale is now being assessed by marine specialists.

Nub News reported live at the scene last night as a rescue operation by the London Fire Brigade, RNLI, and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue attempted to free the small whale, believed to be a minke whale.

At around 1am the whale was floated away from the lock to Isleworth but it escaped.

The whale is around four/five metres long and and was stuck on the lock's boat rollers for approximately six hours from 7pm to 1am this morning.

Large crowds gathered at the lock to watch rescue efforts, building to three rows deep along the river by 11pm. Bill Bailey was even spotted among the worried onlookers.

RNLI Station Commander Glen Nicolaides, who was at the scene, said: "This was a very rare and unusual incident. Crews assisted the Coastguard, RNLI and other marine agencies at the scene.

"Our crews were on standby while a marine biologist and vet assessed the condition of the whale. The mammal was removed for further assessment by marine specialists."

Before its escape Julia Cable, national co-ordinator for British Divers Marine Life Rescue, told Sky News that the whale was in fairly poor condition.

She said: "It's surprising that no one spotted the whale on its journey to Richmond Lock.

"We do not know how long it has been trapped here but it was spotted at 7.30pm.

"The nutritional condition of the whale is fairly poor. He or she isn't nicely rounded like a whale should be, so it's nutritionally compromised.

"There's also damage to the pectoral fins, from stranding, and the fin is showing signs that perhaps it was stranded somewhere earlier in the day as well. But it's now comfortable and the breathing rate is low."