A denizen of the deep has been washed up on a Norfolk beach following storms and high tides battering the region.

The sea mouse was found by a female walker at Scratby over the weekend.

The strange-looking worm was alive and was put back into the North Sea.

In its natural habitat a sea worm uses specialised segments to plough through seabed sediments as deep as 3,000m, where it hunts other worms, molluscs and crustaceans.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: The sea mouse at Scratby beach Picture: SubmittedThe sea mouse at Scratby beach Picture: Submitted (Image: Submitted)

The walker, 53, who did not want to be named, said: "I have been walking the shores of Norfolk for decades and have never seen anything like this.

"It was alive so we put it back in the water. It was very soft, with a colourful furry fringe.

"It was a very odd-looking thing."

Great Yarmouth Mercury: The beach at Scratby Picture: Peter FordThe beach at Scratby Picture: Peter Ford (Image: Peter Ford)

The strange-looking find comes after warning signs were put up at Scratby and other nearby beaches warning people about the dangers of washed-up dead shellfish, which can be toxic to dogs.

In neighbouring Hemsby five homes have had to be demolished following severe erosion due to high tides and storms.