Mesmerising pictures show dolphins playing off Sunderland's Roker Pier

Ian Maggiore visits Sunderland’s seafront most mornings and was delighted to lay eyes on around 15 dolphins breaking through the waves off the coast of Roker and Seaburn.

The 64-year-old, who took up photography around five years ago, captured the mesmerising mammals on Monday morning (June 7) from around 7am to 8am.

“It’s quite a chilled place to be, you meet some lovely people,” he said.

"This morning everyone who turned out struck lucky. They were so close, you couldn’t just see them but you could actually hear them breathing which made it so much more special.

"It’s a wonderful experience. We are just so lucky to have them on our doorstep.

"I was along yesterday (June 6) and there was one dolphin but this morning there must have been 15 dotted about as you looked in every direction.

"It made it harder to photograph them and be looking the right way at the right moment because there were just so many to follow.

"There looked to be a few younger dolphins which were jumping up and were a lot more playful.”

Ian, who shares his pictures with the Echo and on Facebook group Roker and Seaburn Photography group, wants to reassure others hoping to catch a glimpse of the stunning sea creatures not to lose hope.

He added: "There were so many people who hadn’t seen them before. It’s all about luck and you just have to persevere just because you didn’t see them one day doesn’t mean you won’t see them the next.”

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