Crowds gathered at a Kent pier yesterday after spotting porpoises playing around in the water.

Ian Callaway, from Walmer, was at Deal pier yesterday morning when visitors began to gather and point the creatures out.

Mr Callaway and his friends watched what they initially thought were dolphins, as they went about their “aquatic business" and said it was “quite a sight".

“I was just sat on the end of the pier with a couple of pals enjoying a coffee and chatting idly when we were alerted to the presence of these dolphins,” he said.

“So, we merely sauntered to the side of the pier where they had been seen and duly observed them going about their aquatic business.

“Whilst I have occasionally had the company of the odd seal during my early morning swims here, I have never before encountered a dolphin.”

Mr Callaway shared his friend’s snaps of them on Facebook this morning and has got over 500 reactions.

“It seems from comments made by others, that they have been seen around these parts before - at the weekend in Folkestone for example,” he said.

“Though some have opined that they are porpoises.”

Yesterday, more porpoises were seen in Folkestone.

Resident Alex Franks managed to capture videos of the three mammals from near the lighthouse and said it was “surreal” to see them.

Porpoises are typically found in shallow, inshore waters and are common in the UK.

They are often mistaken for dolphins, but according to National Ocean Service, dolphins have longer noses, bigger mouths, more curved dorsal fins, and longer, leaner bodies than porpoises.

The species grows to around five to six feet in length and eat small fish and crustaceans.