Filmmaker delighted to catch 'beautiful' basking shark off the coast of Dunbar

A filmmaker was delighted to capture a “beautiful” shark off the coast of Dunbar on camera.

Andy Smith was filming with his drone along the town’s coastline on Tuesday, when he got a message from his wife telling him there had been a sighting of a basking shark nearby.

After packing his equipment up and nearly giving up on trying to find the sea creature, he was alerted to it by a couple on his way to his car.

After making his way back, he spotted a “huge fin” poking out of the water and proceeded to launch his drone.

“I was filming on the rocky coastline of Dunbar, when I got a message from my wife, telling me there had been a basking shark sighting in the area,” he told STV News.

“I didn’t think I’d have any chance of capturing it on video, but when I had packed up and was walking back to my car, I passed a couple and overheard them talking about the basking shark. They pointed out to sea and there it was.

“A huge fin poking out of the water about 100m off shore. So I found a safe spot, launched my drone, which was running low on its last battery, and hovered at height and watched it until my battery ran out.

“A few minutes was all I had to see this graceful, fascinating but also enormous creature.

“I was aware that it had no idea of the stir it was causing on shore and in the local area. It was just peacefully going about its day feeding.”