A dolphin which became trapped by a buoy has been freed by a kind-hearted fisherman.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue says it was earlier observing the dolphin which is believed to be Dorset's much-loved dolphin Danny.

Volunteers helped to monitor the animal this morning but the sea was too rough for divers to get close to the dolphin to check.

In an update yesterday evening Jurassic Jetski Tours, which operates out of Weymouth, said that the dolphin had been freed by local fisherman Will Chellingworth.

In a post in an online group set up by people interested in 'Danny' whereabouts, Mr Chellingworth wrote: "To make all people aware of this afternoon's incident...he was entangled in a mooring belonging to the swanage sailing club.

"I went out in a small rowing boat with an outboard to try and free him. Luckily I was successful and managed to free him. He was entangled in the pick up bouy rope that was around his tail.

"There were no nets caught on him like people have read. The bouy has been removed in case he decides to get caught in it again! Hopefully he'll stay away from mooring bouys from now on."

Poor weather conditions prompted divers to be cautious about approaching the creature while it was stuck. 

A spokesman for The British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which had been liaising with coastguards and the RNLI, said at the time: "Sea conditions are not good enough at the moment to launch a boat. If we could get any closer, we would. We just can't risk human safety. If the swell calms down we will do what we can but right now it is not safe."

The friendly dolphin known as Danny is incredibly popular in Dorset and has been a regular feature around Weymouth and Portland Harbour in particular, with locals and visitors alike sharing sightings of the friendly flipper on social media.

Since last year, numerous videos have been appearing online of Danny the bottlenose - he even has his own Facebook page.