The first English dolphins have been discovered off the coast of Cornwall, with scientists confirming that a small pod is entirely native to southern shores.

Cornwall is famed for its dolphin populations which can often be seen riding the waves alongside surfers, and leaping from the sea to greet tourist boats as they pass.

But it was always thought the mammals migrated, roaming from the southern Irish Sea to the Bay of Biscay throughout the year.

Now an 11-year monitoring project by the University of Plymouth and Cornwall Wildlife Trust has shown that a social group of 28 bottlenose dolphins stays-put permanently off the English coast.