This photo captures the moment a shark was spotted swimming up the River Fal.

Day-trippers on a boat tour were returning to harbour when they spotted the dark fin of a basking shark.

They then filmed footage of it swimming around the boat and showing the "bright white" of its mouth.

The close encounter took place in the estuary off Falmouth.

And it came just a week after experts warned sharks were getting closer than ever to the shore due to a reduction in marine traffic under lockdown.

It has led to a warning to boat users to take care when out in the water and avoid getting too close for the sharks' safety. .

The image was taken by AK Wildlife Cruises.

Wildlife guide Georgia Bardua wrote: "Just as we were coming back into Falmouth, we spotted a basking shark right in the entrance to the Carrick Roads (the estuary).

"Around 12ft in length, this is the smallest one we've seen so far but it happily came round past the boat several times feeding as we were stopped, giving us lovely views of its silhouette from above and the bright white of the inside of its mouth."

Georgia said the group were just entering the harbour at the end of the trip when they spotted the top of black fins.

She added: "It was unexpected for all of us but everyone was really excited. It certainly ended the trip on a high."

She also encouraged other boat users to be careful at the moment with the increased presence of basking sharks.