Pictures show humpback whale breaching in Firth of Forth Published duration 7 March 2017

image copyright Allan Brown / SWNS.com

An amateur photographer has managed to capture a humpback whale performing a backflip in the Firth of Forth.

Allan Brown, 67, grabbed his camera after hearing there had been sightings of a whale near his home.

The pensioner, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, made his way to Kinghorn where he was able to overlook the Forth.

He spotted the animal and waited until it did a huge breach followed by a big splash. He said he had never seen anything like it before.

image copyright Allan Brown / SWNS.com

Mr Brown said: "I heard there had been sightings of a humpback whale and I only stay a couple of miles down the road.

"I saw the whale on the surface about half a mile away. It did three shallow dives and then disappeared. You could tell it was doing a deep dive.

"The fourth time it breached and I was prepared for it. Considering it was quite far away, it was a big splash.

"I've never seen anything like it. It's quite unusual, especially in the Firth of Forth, because it's so shallow compared to the open sea."

image copyright Allan Brown / SWNS.com

image copyright Allan Brown / SWNS.com

image copyright Allan Brown / SWNS.com

image copyright Allan Brown / SWNS.com