This is the moment a pod of dolphins stunned onlookers – after they were seen leaping from waves behind surfers.
Shocked photographer Karen O’Dell caught the playful creatures on camera at Porthmeor Beach at St Ives in Cornwall on Saturday.
The mother-of-three said she had never seen anything quite like it as the dolphins jumped from the sea as surfers caught waves.
“I was at the beach with my three children, a friend and her child,” the 38-year-old said. “Our children surf but it was really high tide.
“My children were in their wetsuits playing in the sea when we saw the dolphins.
“At first we just saw them flipping out, then they came really close – they were playing with the surfers and jumping in the waves.
“I would say there were between five and ten of them. It was spectacular to watch.”
Karen, from St Ives in Cornwall, added: “The pictures I got were good but it does not recapture the feeling of seeing them amongst the waves – it was just amazing.
“I’ve never seen dolphins that close before.”
Karen’s three children – Harvey, 11, Oakley, six, and Elsie, three – didn’t get too close to the dolphins due to the rough tide but the surfers were enjoying the animals’ company.
“One of the pictures shows a dolphin right behind a surfer,” the full-time photographer added. “They were having a great time.”
