A GLOBE- trotting dolphin last seen in Pembrokeshire in 2015 returned last week and was spotted off Whitesands Bay, the first sighting in three years.

Clet, a solitary travelling bottlenose dolphin, distinguishable by his distinctive damaged dorsal fin, was first sighted in Pembrokeshire in February 2014 when he surfaced in Fishguard Harbour.

He then turned up in Penzance and Ireland before arriving at the Isle of Mull off the coast of Western Scotland.

Then at the end of 2014 he returned, riding in the bow wave of the Fishguard ferry.

Weeks later Sea Trust cetacean spotting group received reports that a dolphin with a split fin was chasing the boats around in Milford Haven.

Just days later the trail went cold but this summer Clet has again been spotted in north Pembrokeshire.

He was sighted by Ffion Rees and her team at Falcon Boats, who were lucky enough to capture the event on video.

Ffion and her team sighted Clet on July 19. He was part of a larger pod of 40 bottlenose dolphins that treated them to a close up encounter, fast swimming and bow-riding alongside their boat.

“I spotted the dolphins towards Whitesands Bay as I was coming out of a cave at the north end of Ramsey Island,” said Ffion.

“They were quite playful and breaching occasionally which made them very easy to spot.

"There were approximately 40 animals in the group with some calves and they were scattered over a wide area.

"As we headed slowly west a few came over and swam alongside the boat and started bow riding, one that was bow riding was particularly noticeable due to a damaged dorsal fin (Clet).

"They stayed with us for about 15 minutes before heading off together in a westerly direction.”

Dolphins are usually social animals but so-called “solitary social dolphins” like Clet are a well-known phenomenon around the world and several have been reported in the UK and Ireland in previous years.

“It is great to see that Clet has re-surfaced. We don’t get as many sightings of bottlenose dolphins in Pembrokeshire, common dolphins are far more frequently sighted in this area,” said Katrin Lohrengel, monitoring officer for Sea Watch Foundation.

"Clet is very distinctive so it is easy to pick him out, however, we can use much less obvious markings and scratches to identify individual dolphins.

"I would encourage anyone who has taken high resolution images of dolphin dorsal fins to send them in to us - we might just be able to tell you who you’re looking at.

“However, if you do encounter Clet, or any other dolphin, do remember that they are a wild animal and need to be treated with respect.

"Particularly solitary social dolphins can respond aggressively when approached so it’s advisable to adhere by the strict code of conduct and enjoy them responsibly.”