Pembrokeshire: Humpback whale spotted near Welsh port

A humpback whale has been spotted swimming just a few hundred metres from a busy Welsh port.

It was snapped breaching from the water by Lloyd Nelmes, 29, near the breakwater between Fishguard and Goodwick in Pembrokeshire.

Mr Nelmes, a marine project officer at the Sea Trust, said the rare sighting was "spine tingling".

About 100 people watched the whale swim around the bay on Friday afternoon.

Humpbacks are spotted sporadically in UK waters, but they tend to be seen off the Shetland Isles and the Hebrides in Scotland.

They are also increasingly seen in the northern North Sea.

They feast on fish and krill in productive cooler waters and then travel to tropical seas to give birth.

In UK seas, they are normally spotted alone or in pairs.

Adult Humpback whales range in length from 14-17m (46-56 ft) and weigh up to 40 metric tonnes (88,185lb), but the one spotted near Fishguard was "quite small", according to Mr Nelmes.

"It's covered in a lot of scars and has signs of previous viruses. It's not a pristine humpback," he said.

The only other Humpback whale spotted by the Sea Trust in recent years was miles out at sea, near Strumble Head.

Mr Nelmes believes the Humpback may have come closer to the coast "due to increased fishing pressures further out".