Amazing drone footage captures playful dolphins swimming alongside surfers

Drone footage has captured the moment surfers were joined by a pod of playful dolphins off the coast of Durban, South Africa.

Richard Melvill was filming at Umdloti Beach when his girlfriend spotted the animals in the surf.

"I live in Umdloti Beach and I was out there about 35 minutes," Melvill told Northglen News.

"I was so stoked to capture this, I was just in the right place at the right time."

Dolphins are highly intelligent marine animals and are well-known for their playful and agile behaviour.

This isn't the first time dolphins have been spotted surfing alongside humans before. In April, a 15-strong pod accompanied a group of surfers at Sennen Cove in Cornwall.