Moment humpback whale leaps out of water in front of walkers in Cornwall

A walking group which hosts weekly photography trips has been left in awe after spotting a whale splashing around off the coast of west Cornwall.

Creative Cornwall spotted the whale near Gwynver, during a walk along the coast path from Porth Nanven to Lands End.

Jacqueline Marie, from the group, said they saw the mammal on Friday 1 December after hearing rumours it was in the bay.

"We were on a walk on Friday, and Coastwatch had reported seeing a whale in the bay the day before so we were hoping to spot it," Ms Marie said.

"We were just past Gwynver on the journey back when we heard it breach before we saw it. The sound was incredible and unmistakable, even though we weren't sure it was actually a whale."

She added: "The whale played in the bay for a good 20 minutes before it went out of sight, past Sennen heading towards Land's End."

In response to the sighting, Cornwall Wildlife Trust said: "We get sporadic sightings of these incredible ocean giants each year off Cornwall, often in the winter months, but these have been increasing in recent years which is a good sign.

"Look out for the 5m long pectoral fins (front flippers) and knobbly head. Their body is black or dark grey with a white underside, and the first sign of a whale is often the blow as they exhale at the surface; in humpback whales the blow is around 3m high."

Jason Prince from the group captured several pictures of the creature.