When 12-year-old Hamish went out for a paddleboard session with his mum and the team at Active 360 Richmond, he got more than he bargained for.

A close-up encounter with a seal was the unexpected highlight of their day.

The scene was captured in a remarkable photo by coach and yoga instructor Sophy Aykroyd and it has turned Hamish into a mini celebrity.

Recalling the experience to Richmond Nub News, Hamish said they were paddling around one of the islands opposite Richmond Riverside when they saw "something's head poke out".

"We stuck around to see where it went and it started being very inquisitive.

"It came up to my board and got on straight away and sat on the back for about 10 minutes."

Read more: 10 photos from paddleboarding with Active 360 Richmond

As the river becomes cleaner, it is becoming a more appealing home for grey seals, harbour seals and porpoises and they are being spotted with increasing regularity.

This gorgeous video shows the moment two women from parent company Active 360, based at Kew Bridge, met a similarly friendly seal who hopped up onto their boards.

Hamish, who lives in Teddington, said he knew that people are not meant to approach seals and this particular one swam away after he'd had a go on all of their boards.

"It was friendly but we couldn't get too close because it was a wild animal. It just came up and got onto the board by itself because it wanted to."

He said of the encounter: "It was cool. I haven't seen it in the Thames before.

"Lots of people have told me they've seen the picture of me."

Hamish's mum Anne said: "It was just extraordinary that he was so curious.

"All he wanted to do was check out each of the boards. It was as if he just wanted to see what the deal was because once he had tried them all, he swam off."

Active 360 Richmond let the group extend their paddleboard session for about 45 minutes so they could complete the planned route.

Co-manager Nigel Muir said he and his team have spotted a seal on a multiple occasions over the last couple of years, but never two seals together.

"We've photographed it quite a few times," he said, "but that's the best photo I think I've seen of it."

Have you seen a seal in the Thames? We'd love to hear about it.

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