JET skiers had a surprise encounter yesterday when a pod of dolphins joined them for a ride.

Joe Fry, from Lagoon Water Sports in Brighton Marina, was out with friends at 11am when around 30 dolphins joined them.

The 24-year-old said the dolphins “played in the waves” for nearly 40 minutes.

It is believed they were bottlenose dolphins, which would make the sighting even more rare as they are far less common than porpoises, which are normally seen in our waters.

Bottlenose dolphins are the most well known species of dolphin, and are usually found in warmer climates.

They are able to swim up to 18mph and can weigh 1,100 pounds.

Mr Fry said the dolphins played in the wake of the jet skis and boats, which were travelling at around 12mph.

The group was made up of both young and old dolphins and ranged in length from around one metre to more than three metres.

Mr Fry said that he had only seen dolphins twice while working at the water sports centre but colleagues had spoken about other occasions.

He said he had rarely heard of sightings of a pod as large as that seen yesterday.