20 May 2012 Last updated at 07:37 ET

Scapa Flow whale rescue drama filmed in Orkney

The whale incident happened in the waters of Scapa Flow off Orkney

A whale tangled in fishing lines has been rescued in the waters of Scapa Flow off Orkney.

It happened during an Orkan Adventures boat trip and the whale was filmed by David Woodcock, whose family had won an auction prize.

Mr Woodcock said Orkan's Magnus Spence initially went into the water with his snorkel and the whale appeared to be tangled in creel lines.

He donned his scuba gear and cut the ropes, freeing the whale.

Mr Woodcock said: "When we got close to it, it became apparent that it was in some sort of distress and Magnus dived in to see what the problem was.

"Having decided that it had become tangled in old creel lines, Magnus returned.

"This may have been rather foolhardy as we were not sure what kind of beastie it was at this time.

"He managed to cut the ropes free and released the whale which then shot off without even the good grace to come closer for another good photo opportunity."