A dolphin has been photographed leaping out of the water miles from the sea in the River Dee near Chester, in the UK.

The stunning picture was taken by a member of the Environment Agency's flood defence maintenance team and the mammal is now being monitored by the charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue and the coastguard.

The dolphin was originally spotted by members of the public at Connah's Quay docks but then swam up river to Saltney.

The coastguard said the dolphin was happily swimming up and down and doesn't seem to be in a rush to go back out to sea.

But they have said they are worried about the size of crowds gathering on the banks of the river and are warning people that harassing a dolphin is a criminal offence.

They said they are aware of reports of someone trying to go into the water earlier to swim with the dolphin.

An Environment Agency spokesman has said the sighting is extremely rare but that it is a good sign of the water quality in the area.

He said the mammal probably started swimming up the river at high tide to chase and feed on fish.