A kayaker was terrified but elated by a close encounter with a 40ft whale in the Forth which he captured on camera.
Lloyd Blyth, 22, came within 10 metres of the massive humpback a mile and a half off the coast of Kinghorn.
He filmed the gentle giant as it passed his vessel so close it could be heard blowing.
Commercial diver Lloyd, of Burntisland, said: “It was probably the most scary but exciting time of my life so far, and I’ve done a few crazy things.”
The humpback whale has been in the Forth for several weeks and stunning photographs have been taken of it breaching.
Lloyd went out in his kayak with the intention of paddling to Inchkeith island and back for some exercise, but before he got there saw a puff of water about 900 metres away.
He said: “I saw the whale again about 800 metres to my left and it looked like it was heading away.
“All of a sudden it popped up about 100 metres to my left and started heading towards me.
“My heart was pounding like I’ve never felt before.
“It came right up and I could hardly speak, I was just breathing heavily.
“It was only about 10 metres away then it dived down and I never saw it again.
“I waited a few seconds then started to head back.
“I was worried it might breach on top of me.”
In his video, Lloyd can be heard uttering an expletive and breathing heavily while the whale passes, creating a wave which rocks his kayak.
He said: “It wouldn’t have caused me intentional harm but a whale that size and weight, a small flick of its fin could have knocked me into the water.”
His encounter lasted around four minutes and Lloyd said: “It was out of this world to see an animal so big so close.”
Meanwhile, Police Scotland urged people against approaching the whale, which was first spotted in the Forth in middle of January.
Wildlife liaison officer Lindsay Kerr said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for wildlife watchers and marine tourism but it is essential that the health and well-being of animals is considered at all times.
“The Forth Estuary is subject to large tidal changes and any disturbance to the visiting whale could cause significant risk of it becoming distressed and moving further into shallow water and then becoming stranded by a rapidly outgoing tide.”
He recommended boat and vessel owners follow the Wildlife Safe scheme and not attempt to approach or actively pursue the whale, which is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
It is hoped the animal will eventually return to the sea on its migration journey.
On Saturday a representative of British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which has been keeping a watching brief on the whale, will be at Pettycur Bay from 10.30am for whale watching and to chat to the public.
