A DOZEN dolphins joined the crew of an RNLI lifeboat off the coast of Redcar as it took part in a rescue mission.

The routine emergency call for the lifeboat volunteers took an unexpected turn when a pod of 12 dolphins appeared alongside the lifeboat as it made its way to the mouth of the River Tees.

The Redcar lifeboat Leicester Challenge III was tasked to a small fishing boat stranded 4 miles off Redcar after its engine failed.

A tow was rigged and the lifeboat was proceeding towards the River Tees when the dolphins appeared alongside the lifeboat.

They played in the bow wave of the lifeboat for several minutes before disappearing.

RNLI helmsman Mike Picknett said: "We were settling in for a slow tow towards the Tees to put the fishing boat back on its moorings when the dolphins appeared.

"We were surrounded by at least a dozen of them, and they stayed with us right up to the wind farm, then they just disappeared."

Dave Cocks, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Redcar RNLI, said: "It’s quite uncanny really, because the same thing happened almost exactly 12 months ago.

"On August 7 last year the lifeboat was called to a broken down fishing boat. We were towing it towards the Tees and up popped a small pod of dolphins."