Friends spot humpback whale off Cornwall coast

The picture was captured on Saturday by two friends while they were walking between Sennen Cove and Porth Nanven

A humpback whale sighting off the coast of Cornwall has been confirmed by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT).

Photographs were captured on Saturday by friends Will Brewster and Jason Prince while they were walking between Sennen Cove and Porth Nanven.

Mr Brewster said it was the first time he had ever seen a whale, describing it as "a very special moment".

He added: "I grew up in Cornwall and walk the coast path every weekend and this is my first whale."

He said he had previously seen elephants and giraffes at the zoo but he felt the whale had "something more formidable" about it.

"I was very surprised at how far out of the water it was breaching," he added.

• LISTEN: Will Brewster describes the moment to BBC Radio Cornwall

CWT said sightings had "been increasing in recent years" and that this was "a good sign".

Ruth Williams, Head of Marine at CWT, said: "It proves the health of the oceans is good enough for them to come into our waters and feed."

She added: "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."

Ms Williams added: "Our Seaquest South West group at Cornwall Wildlife Trust is cataloguing humpback sightings in South West waters and we can now identify several different individual animals.

"We encourage people to send in their sighting, together with any photos."