An injured striped dolphin was rescued after it washed ashore off the coast of northern Philippines.

The sea creature was spotted lying in the shallows by cops patrolling the Paoay Sand Dunes in Ilocos Norte province on November 13.

Police Lieutenant Alice Vicente of the Laoag City police station said: 'We were taking photos along the beach when we noticed something drifting by the sea. It turned out to be a dolphin.'

She added they first thought it was a sea turtle, but realised it was a small dolphin stranded on the sand.

Upon closer inspection, the officers saw that it had small wounds on its body and tail, prompting them to call the local fisheries and aquatic resources department.

Provincial Fishery and Regulatory coordinator Arther Valente arrived at the scene to assess the cetacean's injuries.

He said: 'We've identified it as a striped dolphin. Its wounds were on its extremities and weren't fatal. They looked like marks from shark bites.'

Police later helped the dolphin swim back into the open sea by carrying it farther from the shore.