Otters spotted by walkers in South Park, Darlington

A crowd gathered to stop and watch the two otters splashing around in the River Skerne.

Patrick Searle and his daughter were going on their weekly Sunday morning stroll around South Park, through the Victoria Road entrance, when they spotted a kingfisher.

Already delighted with that find they were distracted when someone cried out "Look at that!".

The 31-year-old, who works at the Department of Education, explained how he enjoys taking his daughter around the park to enjoy nature.

He said: "Me and my daughter had gone on our normal walk in South Park on Sunday morning.

"We had just gone in through the Victoria Road entrance when we spotted a kingfisher and started taking pictures of that.

"Someone shouted "look at that" and when we looked there were two little otters swimming towards us.

"We watched for a bit on Polam Bridge and they were playing in the water.

"They had quite a crowd of families standing and watching on the bank.

"There were about 15 of us just stood watching. I have been on the look-out for them for years.

"You hear about sightings but it's never you!"

The Wildlife Trust describes how chances to see the 'enigmatic creatures' are improving as waterways are improved after the species was driven to the brink.

They say that the best time to spot the creature is at dawn and dusk.

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Otter spotted by photographer in the River Tees, Darlington

If you want to spot otters they say to look for tracks on muddy or sandy banks.

Otters were spotted in the River Tees in Darlington back in December.

On that occasion two adults and two cubs were spotted.