PHOTOGRAPHER Paul Blackley was lucky enough to paddle with a dolphin off Freshwater Bay yesterday afternoon (Sunday).

During an afternoon paddle around the Bay, Paul and his two daughters spotted the dolphin.

He said: "We just positioned ourselves in its vicinity and if it came close it did it because it wanted to.

"I have surfed with dolphins four or five times and been lucky enough to see them from the shore and from boats 30 to 40 times. I have also been involved in surveys and was part of project Jonah in New Zealand in 1993/4 and helped in a mass stranding of pilot whales at Golden Bay. But yesterday was pretty special."

Stephan Voigt, Isle of Wight British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) Area Coordinator and Marine Mammal Medic, has issued advice to help keep the dolphin, and everyone near, safe.

Those interested in the dolphin should not try and approach it, swim with it or attempt to feed it.

Isle of Wight County Press: