A humpback whale that delighted and thrilled visitors to north Pembrokeshire has been spotted off the coast of England.

Humpy, as he was fondly nicknamed by locals, was first spotted in Fishguard Harbour on Friday, January 19.

He was seen in the sea around the inner breakwater, Old Fort and the outer breakwater every day until January 23.

On Friday and Saturday he came right into the harbour and then followed the inner breakwater out to sea again, much to the delight of locals nearby.

On Monday the whale, believed to be a healthy young adult male, was spotted frequently between Pen Anglas, the Old Fort and the inner and outer breakwaters. He put on a spectacular show and was seen breaching several times.

Western Telegraph: Humpy breaching off the outer breakwater. Picture Ken BarnettHumpy breaching off the outer breakwater. Picture Ken Barnett (Image: Ken Barnett)

The whale was then spotted off Strumble Head travelling in the direction of St Davids and was seen in Ramsey Sound last Saturday, January 27.

Yesterday afternoon he was seen by a volunteer Seaquest surveyor in St Ives Bay Cornwall.

“It came in close near St Ives and headed out in to the bay, but remained in the area for at least a couple of hours,” said Seaquest/Cornwall Wildlife Trust volunteer Dan Jarvis.

Western Telegraph: Markings on Humpy's dorsal fin confirm that it is the same whale.

The volunteer was able to get some photos that Dan was able to match with the ones online taken by the Sea Trust in Fishguard, and before that the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch team when it was previously at the Isle of Man.

The markings on the whale corresponded to prove that Humpy had travelled from the Isle of Man to Pembrokeshire and then onto St Ives.

“Without their photos and previous match we wouldn't have been able to make this discovery,” said Dan.

Western Telegraph: Humpy was spotted in St Ives, Cornwall yesterday.

“It is the first match of a humpback whale between south west England, Wales and the Isle of Man, so very exciting.”

Lloyd Nelmes, Sea Trust’s project officer said: “According to Dan the scars/markings on our whale correspond to those on images of the whale off St Ives.

“This is a great example of collaboration between our two groups and shows the value of digital photography which would not have been widely available twenty years ago.”