A PADDLE-BOARDER got the surprise of his life when a seal hopped on board for a ride.

The chilled-out creature made its way on to the board before spending a couple of minutes enjoying the rest and soaking up the sunshine.

It seemed oblivious to its host - amazed novice paddle-boarder Cenk Albayrak-Touye - for much of the time.

But it then turned round and had a good look at him before slipping back into the sea.

Cenk, a 25-year-old English teacher from Parkstone in Poole, was paddle-boarding with his dad on Bank Holiday Monday when the unexpected guest arrived, just off Brownsea Island in Poole.

He told the Daily Echo: “Me and my dad have recently bought paddle-boards and this was only the fourth or fifth time we had been out on them.

“We had gone a bit further afield and I sat down to keep my balance. We were in Poole Harbour, not far from Brownsea Island.

“I had seen the seal’s head pop up a few yards away from me, then it came up by the board and just got on.

“My dad didn’t realise why I had stopped because I didn’t want to shout out in case I scared the seal.”

Cenk said the seal was big and quite heavy and he wondered if they were going to over-balance and fall into the water.

He added: “I have only ever seen a glimpse of a seal so this was the last thing I expected. The seal was so relaxed and enjoying itself so obviously I didn’t want to touch it.”

Cenk shared footage on social media and it has been viewed by hundreds of people.

He added: “If this happens again I would be very lucky but I am not going to get my hopes up.”

Cenk was one of thousands of people enjoying glorious weather across the area over the Bank Holiday weekend.

There have been several sightings of seals in the area with crowds attracted to look at the creatrues on Sandbanks beach in December last year and also at Hengistbury Head last summer.