Jumping dolphins seen by fishermen off Fleetwood coast

The pod of around 12 dolphins were spotted in the sea close to the town on Wednesday at around 11am.

Anchorsholme fisherman Andy Sargent, 51, was on a fishing trip with friends when he captured footage of the creatures leaping out of the sea on his phone, around 20 minutes after heading out from Fleetwood marina.

He said: “I have seen them before, but it was years ago. There was about 12 of them or so.

“At one point one of them jumped out right up next to the boat, but it happened so fast we couldn’t take a picture.

“They stayed with us for probably about 10 minutes, then disappeared.

“It’s just nice to see them up here. That’s the closest I have ever got to them.

“It was absolutely a good experience and hopefully it’s a sign that the seas are getting cleaner.”

Alan Wright, campaigns manager at the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, said: “We have watches off Fleetwood and we do often see (the dolphins).

“Last year we had a pod of 100 dolphins in Liverpool bay, so they are definitely coming past you.

“The Irish Sea is full of wildlife, though not as much as we’d like. We have got basking sharks, which are the biggest fish in the world. A lot of the shore searches we are consistently finding eggs for smaller animals such as rays and dogfish.

“It’s lovely for people to see them because it’s quite a rare thing, but they are always there, particularly in the summer when there is more food around.”

He added that the Wildlife Trust had started a campaign to create 41 new marine conservation zones in the waters around England, including the Wyre and Ribble Estuaries.

He said: “The more areas that are protected, the more chance that the dolphins are going to survive.”