A DORSET man has recalled the ‘magical’ moment he came across a group of wild dolphins.

Rich Worthy was sailing along the Bournemouth coastline when he was approached by a pod of friendly dolphins.

Rich said: “I had some company yesterday for about 20 minutes while I was motoring towards Hengistbury Head from the Needles.

“It was magical and such an amazing sight to see.

“There was a pod of about 20 dolphins just playing in the sea, just jumping up and down around my boat.

“I’ve been sailing for six seasons and coming across this was amazing.”

Rich spotted the playful creatures on June 24 at around 11.30am.

Dr Georgia Jones, founder of SharkStuff, confirmed the pod was bottlenose dolphins.

According to Dorset Wildlife Trust, bottlenose dolphins are chunky, fairly plain grey dolphins, darker above and paler underneath.

Their beak is short and stubby and their dorsal fin is large, sickle-shaped, and often marked with notches and scratches.

Bottlenose dolphins are often sighted close to shore alone or in small groups.

They love to jump out of the water and will happily approach boats to bowride (surfing in the waves created by the boat). They feed on fish, often working as a team to hunt.