By Samuel Wightwick

A drone captured amazing footage of a beluga whale swimming off the coast of Shetland.

The whale can be seen dipping in and out of the icy water - blowing water out of its blowhole.

Richard Shucksmith, 50, an ecologist and wildlife photographer, captured the rare sighting after being alerted to the presence of the whale by locals.

Richard, who is originally from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, said: "Someone had spotted something in the water and described it. I suspected it to be a beluga.

"So I contacted my colleagues Phil Harris and Rebecca Nason at Shetland Seabird Tours who picked me up in their 4x4 as I was actually snowed in at my house.

"The area where we needed to be to see the whale was only accessible by 4x4 as the weather conditions were so bad."

Richard, who currently lives in South Nesting in the Shetland Isles, said that the experience was a first for him as a wildlife photographer.

He said: "This was the first time I've ever seen and filmed a beluga whale.

"I was very excited when I caught the footage, it was brilliant to see, I loved it."