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A small dolphin, thought to be a baby, has been spotted swimming in the River Thames close to Embankment Pier.

In a rare sighting, the dolphin spent around two hours swimming in the area on Sunday afternoon before it disappeared.

The marine mammal was spotted by staff at the Thames RIB Experience, which runs boats from the pier, between 1pm and 3pm.

Charlotte McGlinchey, director at Thames RIB Experience, told the Standard: “We’ve seen them about four times since we started eight years ago, so it is rare.

“He was swimming round there for about two hours. Whenever the big ships came past he would disappear under the water and then he would come back up to the surface again.

“Then he disappeared. Our staff were very suprised.”

The dolphin is believed to have headed off in the direction of Tower Bridge.

The most famous visitor to the Thames was a juvenile northern bottlenose whale, dubbed the ‘Thames Whale’, discovered near the Albert Bridge in 2006.

The stranding of the Thames Whale and the subsequent operation to release it at sea prompted rolling news coverage, with TV news crews following the rescue down the river by helicopter.

Sadly, the whale passed away before it could reach the mouth of the Thames and its skeleton is now on display in the Natural History Museum.