Dolphin joins family on their morning swim

By Holly Mei-Yu Stafford

A family was in awe after a playful dolphin joined them on their morning swim - jumping around them and asking for belly rubs.

Lynda MacDonald, 50, and her partner, son and his girlfriend set out for their 6 a.m. morning swim at Lyme Bay, Dorset.

Seconds after they jumped off their boat for a swim, they were joined by the huge bottlenose dolphin.

The footage, taken on August 3, shows the playful mammal asking for pets and even guiding people across the water with its beak.

Lynda, who works in advertising and splits her time between West London and Dorset, said: "It was a magical moment, I'm so glad I caught it on camera.

"Out of nowhere, the dolphin immediately approached us and wanted to join in on the action.

"It was friendly and playful.

"It even started guiding members of our group along the water with its beak.

"It was not distressed by our presence and was very confident around us.

"I've seen a dolphin before, but this is something I'll remember forever. "

According to Dorset Wildlife Trust, twenty-eight species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises are recorded along the UK coastline - a number of these have been recorded in Dorset.

Bottlenose dolphins tend to spend more time inshore than other species, making them easier to spot from the land as well as from the sea.

"The sea belongs to dolphins - we were lucky to spend a moment with it," Lynda said.

"You can hear the footage audio that the dolphin was happy to interact with us.

"But we were mindful; we played for five minutes and then let it go on its way."