Whale spotted in King's Lynn river

An unusual guest has been spotted in a river in Lynn this morning.

The whale has been seen swimming down the River Great Ouse.

Photographer Paul Tibbs got these snaps of the whale at about 8am.

A post on the Norfolk Cetaceans website says it is showing features of a young fin whale.

Sea Watch regional coordinator for Norfolk, Carl Chapman said: "It would be more typical of a Minke Whale to enter the River Great Ouse but historically there have been two other records of Fin Whale within the river."

A total of nine historical sightings of fin whales in Norfolk span between 1842 and 2015.

The most recent UK sighting was of an adult and juvenile fin whales which was reported in the Kessock Channel an area of water forming part of the inner Beauly Firth last week.

He added: "Therefore it’s not so outlandish that this individual that can grow to be the second largest animal on the planet came to visit King’s Lynn today.

"The latest good news is the whale was last seen heading back out to sea."

Sea Watch chair of trustees, Robin Petch, has alerted British Divers Marine Life Rescue and they are sending a team to assess the situation.

Sightings officer for Sea Watch Foundation, Chiara Giulia Bertulli said: “With the help of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue we really hope this fin whale is going to be able to swim back to the open sea as the tide is going out and time is ticking."