A humpback whale was spotted swimming in the River Thames today.

The huge animal appeared at around 7.30am this morning and headed into the capital for around 40 minutes, before passing back through Dagenham, towards the sea.

Shaun O’Riordan, 52, was at work when the mammal came to the surface for air this morning.

The automotive worker said: ‘I’ve seen a few seals and even some dolphins but I’ve never seen a whale in the Thames.’

It was spotted close to the Ford factory and experts said it has been in London since Sunday.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said: ‘We observed the humpback whale in the Thames estuary for just just over three hours yesterday.

‘The whale was diving and surfacing at approximately five to six minute intervals, slowly moving down river with the outgoing tide.

‘We gave it lots of names today.

‘The locals will have one, the press will have another. Will this one be male or female I wonder?

‘Think Hessy has already been one of the chosen ones, like Nessy but less elusive.’

‘It seems to be doing fine,’ Julia Cable, national co-ordinator for BDMLR, said.

‘We watched it doing normal diving and surfacing behaviour. It is surfacing once every five or six minutes, which is normal.’

While humpback whales are sometimes seen off the British coast further north, Ms Cable said it was ‘very unusual’ for one to be seen within the Thames Estuary.

‘It’s very likely that it just made a navigational error,’ she added.

Humpback whales are one of the world’s largest animals with adults ranging in length from 39 to 52 feet and weighing around 30 tons.

Known for their lilting song, humpbacks feed in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth, fasting and living off their fat reserves. The balleen whale’s diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

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