Dick Van Dyke was reportedly rescued by a school of porpoises after he floated out to sea on a surfboard.

According to WENN, the Mary Poppins and Diagnosis Murder star fell asleep on his board while at the beach.

Van Dyke reportedly explained: "I woke up out of sight of land... and I started paddling with the swells and I started seeing fins swimming around me and I thought, 'I'm dead!'.

"They turned out to be porpoises [and] they pushed me all the way to shore. I'm not kidding."

Van Dyke is said to have been a keen longboarder when he was younger.

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