Rowledge isn’t known for its whales and dolphins.

But a pair of 12-year-old girls from the village have been on a mission to educate locals about the smallest and most endangered one in the world – the vaquita.

Bryony Cooper and Rosy Cook held a two-day bake sale as part of a bid to save the critically endangered mammal from extinction as its numbers in the Sea of Cortez, off the coast of Mexico, are in double figures.

Bryony said: “I was researching pink river dolphins in the Amazon, which are also endangered.

“Then I came across information about the vaquita. It was only discovered 40 years ago but they’ve declined at an alarming rate because of illegal fishing.

“There’s now less than 20 of them left in the world. I just thought it was so sad and I wanted to do something to help.”

The girls had often talked about holding a bake sale and decided this was the perfect reason. They baked brownies, flapjacks, cupcakes and cookies and prepared homemade lemonade, milkshakes and vanilla matcha. They also sold bacon and sausage baps, and they talked to customers about vaquitas.

It was clear that no-one had heard of these sea mammals and Bryony came up with a good way of describing them: “Imagine the smallest dolphin you have ever seen with panda eyes and black lipstick – then you’ve got yourself a vaquita”.

The bake sale was “really hard work and sometimes quite stressful” but it achieved its aim. More people know about vaquitas, and they raised £370 for the Porpoise Conservation Society.

The society is working to eliminate illegal gillnets in the Sea of Cortez which often catch vaquitas.

“We both found it quite hard talking to strangers,” said Bryony.

“But it’s totally been worth it. I feel really proud of us for doing it.”