A playful dolphin has been entertaining rowing teams off the coast of Weymouth and Portland.

Numerous sightings have been reported and one lucky rower managed to capture a stunning encounter in Portland Harbour on video.

Hannah Orrell's footage shows the breathtaking encounter between rowers and the dolphin, as it swims and jumps alongside the boat and appears to enjoy the attention of the excited team.

Hannah said: "We had such good luck with the dolphin, I'd heard there was one knocking about in the bay but I wasn't expecting such a close encounter!

"It was obvious the dolphin wanted to play - every time we sped up it would come closer alongside and try to catch a ride on our bow wave."

According to Jess Clemmens, of Weymouth Rowing Club, the dolphin has been seen regularly in recent months.

She said: "It's always very exciting - a lot of freaking out goes on. Everybody rushes to get a picture.

"I've had it come within an oar's length, it's amazing to get so close.

"I think it's attracted by the splashing.

"I do feel a bit sad because dolphins are usually part of a pod, so it's probably lost - hopefully it will find another a pod soon."

Members of Portland Gig Rowing Club were treated to an up-close experience when the dolphin played alongside their boat for around fifteen minutes.

Ron Peach was overseeing a training session around Portland Harbour when the dolphin appeared.

He said: "It was a Sunday morning - weather conditions were perfect, and I was coxing our men's training session.

"Our stroke rower was the first to spot the dolphin, then it came up behind me - we all got a bit of a shock.

"We tried our best to keep a steady pace so it would stay with the boat. As you can imagine we were somewhat distracted - he was swimming underneath the bow and even jumped out of the water in front of us.

"The dolphin stayed with us for about 15 minutes as we rowed along the outside of Portland Harbour, before swimming off in the direction of Weymouth Bay.

"We see dolphins occasionally but I've never had one come so close. It was the largest I've seen - maybe a couple of metres from nose to tail."

Have you spotted the dolphin? Send your pictures to newsdesk@dorsetecho.co.uk