Three fishermen were left stunned after they spotted a pod of 15 dolphins swimming off the Kent coast.

Lewis Rule was out on his boat with dad Robin and brother Daniel a mile off Margate when he saw the creatures breaching the water yesterday afternoon.

Watch the incredible moment Lewis, Robin and Daniel Rule saw the dolphins. Video courtesy of Lewis Rule

The trio steered their vessel towards the playful animals, before motoring through the sea surrounded by the pod for several minutes.

Lewis, 35, told KentOnline: "They were quite far away from us, but then we started the engine and drove up to them.

"They disappeared and were then all around us.

"As we were driving along, they were speeding alongside the boat for a couple of minutes.

"I was speechless at first - I felt quite lucky."

Lewis shared a video of the remarkable sighting near Thanet on Facebook earlier today.

The footage shows the dolphins jumping out of the water, while the three men could be heard shouting with astonishment in the background.

"We couldn't keep up with them because the boat's not that fast," Lewis added.

"I reckon there could have been up to 15 dolphins. I was gobsmacked.

"It made our day. We didn't carry on fishing after that as we thought nothing could top that."

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet