A Humpback Whale which has been spotted in Cornwall for the past few months had to be rescued this afternoon after it was spotted in distress just near Newlyn. 

The whale, which was identified as ‘Ivy’ by Marine Discovery Penzance – a wildlife-watching tour boat - has recently been seen in Porthleven and other locations across the Cornish coast for several months.

However, this afternoon, the whale was discovered by Marine Discovery Penzance entangled in lobster pot lines with two drawn tightly across its back and another wrapped around its tail stock which had caused a nasty wound.

After dropping passengers off, Marine Discovery Penzance along with Andy from Atlantic Adventures, Connie from Grampus Campus and Jack from Coast Boat Trips went back out to monitor the whale, to see if there was anything they could do to help the mammal.

A spokesperson from Marine Discovery Penzance said: “There was communication with British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and rightly were warned not to attempt any kind of rescue, as the danger to human life was high - once someone gets into trouble in the water, the whale is no longer the focus, and the human rescue becomes the priority.

“We monitored the whale in the choppy sea and BDMLR coordinated their whale release team.”

However, with the risk of collision from boats coming in and out of the Newlyn Harbour and the BDMLR not being able to get to the location until Monday morning, there was concern for the safety and health of the whale.

That was until Mollie and Ivor Dent – Penlee’s Inshore Lifeboat turned up at around 3.30pm whilst returning from a call out in Pendeen. 

Luckily, the crew had the right equipment on board and managed to cut the whale free.

Penlee shared an update on its Facebook about the incident on Sunday evening which explained how the whale was rescued by 'skilful manoeuvring' by Will Treneer.

Once it was free, the whale swam off slowly, but not before giving a couple of tail slaps, as a thank you.