Australian beachgoers brazenly touched a whale that strayed “dangerously close” to the shore in a perilous encounter.

More than a dozen swimmers were filmed approaching the mammal in the waters off Leighton beach, near Perth in Western Australia.

The cetacean is believed to be a sperm whale and Dr Natalie Sinclair, a marine biologist, told the BBC how close it came to becoming stranded on the beach was “perilous”.

“The proximity of individuals to the whale poses risk, not only to the animal, but also to the people involved,” she said.

Sperm whales can weigh as much as 45 tons and grow to a length of nearly 16 metres.