DOREST (Web Desk) – A swimmer carefully posed for a selfie with an enormous stinging jellyfish off the Dorset coast.
Jane Lloyd was seen getting up close and personal with the massive barrel jellyfish near the beauty spot Durdle Door, on the Jurassic Coast, South West England.
Swimming alongside friend Jodi Songhurst, 45, the pair used an underwater camera to capture a series of photographs with the marine creature before helping it back out to sea.
Ms Songhurst, a gymnastics coach from Poole, said they were warned of the stinging jellyfish before getting into the water.
She said: “A group of us had chosen to swim at Durdle Door instead of our usual location at Shore Road in Poole. When I got there a few people were getting out of the water and they said they had seen a few barrel jellyfish.
“I got in and swam out to sea, at which point I spotted one of the jellyfish. As I was swimming back to shore there was another one close in. My friend Jane and I decided to get a closer look.
“We knew they are harmless so we weren’t scared. We got out our camera and took a load of shots of us with the jellyfish. It had gotten a bit close to shore so we helped it back out to sea before getting out of the water.
“It was an incredible experience to see such a huge jellyfish up close.”
The jellyfish have been invading the shores of the south west in recent weeks, with hundreds of sightings reported.
They are often seen in the warmer summer months when they come closer to shore in search of their food, plankton.
The barrel jellyfish is the UK’s largest and can be up to 3ft wide and 5ft long, and weigh up to five-and-a-half stone.
Although they look terrifying, their sting is mild and isn’t dangerous to humans. It is similar to a nettle sting and can cause a rash.
Members of the public are being urged to report any sightings to the Marine Conservation Society as they are the staple diet of leatherback turtles, which could now be attracted to the area.
