Surfers turn out to ride Gloucestershire's Severn Bore

A surfer who holds the world record for distance surfing rode the Severn Bore in Gloucestershire for the first time.

Sergio Laus set the Guinness World Record of 10.1km (6.2 miles) for distance surfing in 2005 in Brazil and then 11.8km (7.3 miles) in 2009.

Hundreds of spectators stood on the banks at Minsterworth and watched as he fell off downstream.

A bore is a surge wave caused by the incoming tide being funnelled up the narrowing estuary.

Sergio Laus, from Brazil, said: "In the Amazon we surf in the middle of the jungle with some savage animals like crocodiles, piranhas, jaguars - you can be scared.

"But here it is very different - you don't have animals and the wave is a little small. In the Amazon we can ride waves of 18, 10 and 15 feet."

An Environment Agency spokesman, said: "Weather conditions were not great so some people said it was not as spectacular as it could have been."

The differences between the lowest and highest tide in one day can be more than 14.5 metres (47.5 ft).

These high or spring tides occur on several days in each lunar cycle throughout the spring and autumn.

Bores can range between one star, caused by a tidal range of 4.5m (14.8ft) to 4.6m (15ft), and five-star, caused by a tidal range of 5.4m (17.7ft) and above.

Another "four star" bore is expected on the Severn at 2214 BST and a "three star" bore is predicted on Saturday at 1041 BST.