Incredible moment dolphin joins family and asks for cuddles in unforgettable swim

A family were left stunned after a cheeky dolphin gatecrashed their morning swim - leaping about them and begging for tummy tickles.

Lynda MacDonald, 50, and her partner, son and his girlfriend, headed out for their 6am dawn dip at Lyme Bay, Dorset on August 3. Moments after they plunged off their vessel for a splash they were accompanied by the enormous bottlenose dolphin. Images show the mischievous creature requesting cuddles, and even shepherding swimmers across the waves with its snout.

Lynda, who operates in marketing and divides her time between West London and Dorset, remarked: "It was a magical moment, I'm so glad I caught it on camera.

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"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."

While they typically feature in photos of families at sunkissed holiday destinations, dolphins do often appear on UK shores, according to the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

There are 28 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises residing in British coastal waters, a number of which 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."

Lynda and her family's incredible experience with the dolphins comes after a pod of the mammals caused "quite a stir" when they surfaced on the Yorkshire coast. The pod, thought to number 225 dolphins, surfaced in late July just off Scarborough, and was believed to have made its way south from Moray Firth.

Fred Tiles, an amateur naturalist who watched the group as they danced through the water, told the BBC they had travelled "really close to shore and Marine Drive is filled with people with binoculars and cameras watching them breaching and throwing fish".

Grant Ellis, from The Sea Mammal Research Unit, told the broadcaster sea conditions were likely behind the reason they decided to travel down south. He said: "There have been a lot of marine heatwaves going on and it could also be that environmental conditions in Yorkshire are improving - it's something we're investigating."