Mysterious blue sea creatures linked to venomous jellyfish wash up on UK beach

Hundreds of exotic-looking sea creatures have washed up on beaches in northwest England after being driven there by westerly winds.Beachgoers in Cumbria stopped to photograph the raft of animals, known as “by-the-wind sailors”, that appeared along St Bees beach.But wildlife experts warned people not to touch them because the can give a “very nasty” sting.The creatures are closely related to the Portuguese man o' war, but at only about 2ins long they are smaller.Louise Nicholson, who lives in the area, said at first she thought the animals were seaweed and almost picked one up.“There were hundreds of them and there were lots of visitors to the area taking photos,” she told the BBC.Each by-the-wind sailor is a colony of polyps with different functions (Louise Nicholson)“They are absolutely b