A pod of dolphins have been spotted playing in a river 13 miles from the sea in Lincolnshire.<br /><br />Madi Corby and her partner Sam Wibberley, both 22, were walking their dogs along the edge of the River Welland, near Spalding, when they saw three fins in the water.<br /><br />Video taken by Sam on Tuesday (19/3) afternoon shows the animals gliding along the surface of the water by a set of flood gates.<br /><br />Professional dog walker Madi said: “It was an amazing experience and still stunned that I got to see them.<br /><br />“I’m a dog walker and have my own business so always out walking dogs but was walking my own four dogs at the time with my partner.<br /><br />“They dolphins obviously just swam down from the sea which is about 13 miles up stream but they couldn’t get past the flood gates so they must have swam back. <br /><br />“We watched them play for about ten minutes. It was incredible to see them playing so close to us.”<br /><br />Dolphins can measure up to 2.5 metres long and weigh up to 235kg and usually are found to be living in deep water.<br /><br />Up to 29 species of cetaceans, which include dolphins and whales, have been sighted in the UK and Ireland since 2000.<br /><br />Common dolphins are an offshore species, but often come close to shore to feed, according to The Wildlife Trusts.<br /><br />Bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises are the two species which are regularly seen. A seal was recently spotted at nearby Baston Fen too.<br /><br />The River Welland has been running at low levels further into town as part of the Environment Agency’s bid to help the flooded Cowbit and Crowland Washes recover after a bank collapsed earlier this year.
