One year on: Holidaymaker near Scarborough spots ‘crocodiles’ off the Yorkshire Coast
and live on Freeview channel 276
Various creatures and marine mammals have been previously spotted in the area, including a pod of 80 Minke whales in Staithes, dolphins in Scarborough and an albatross at Bempton Cliffs.
But last year, a holidaymaker shared video footage of what appeared to be ‘crocodiles’ just off the coastline at Blue Dolphin Caravan Park, between Cayton Bay and Filey.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdSarah Craven was out walking with her family when the footage was captured.
Miss Craven said: “We took the boys up for a walk on the cliff top when we saw some dolphins jumping in the background.
“Suddenly, my son shouted ‘crocodiles!’. We all looked down and there in front of me were what I thought were two large crocodiles.
“We moved further along the cliff to get a closer look and I started to take pictures and videos.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“If a closer look is taken you can see the back legs swimming. I saw both front legs and back legs with long pointy tails swishing behind, the skin looked bumpy like crocodile or alligator skin.
“We then noticed a smaller one in between the large ones.”
Miss Craven posted the video to Facebook, and The Scarborough News reported the sighting, which caused a commotion online - with many questioning the supposed sighting.
The video and stories went viral online, after The Scarborough News reported it, with big news sites picking the story uup.
Miss Craven’s partner Mr Latz said: “I can’t believe how viral it really has gone but then thinking about it, it is a massive thing really knowing we have crocodiles in our sea.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe video footage wasn’t believed by a local reptile expert who said that the footage did not show crocodiles or alligators due to the temperature of the sea being too cold meaning that crocodiles would lose function of their bodies due to the cold, and potentially die.
Mr Latz said: “I suppose everyone has the right to believe what they want and people can have their opinions but they weren't there and I know what we saw with my own eyes.”
Do you think the video footage shows crocodiles in the sea? Or do you think there is another explanation?
More recently, another holidaymaker thought they spotted a ‘ghost’ at the Open Air Theatre during a Paul Heaton concert.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe story got everybody talking on social media, with people trying to guess as to whether it was a ghost or another explanation.
One person said that the picture could have been in ‘Rotterdam or anywhere’, and a few users said was it ‘Jennifer, Alison, Phillipa or Sue’?
The story got picked up on national TV, however, with Jeremy Vine on 5 using it as part of their ‘Papers and Everything Else’ feature on Thursday, August 17.
Now the mysery on the ‘ghost’ has been debunked as one Facebook user shared another image of the ‘ghost’, and it appears it was a woman with blonde hair and a white t-shirt on walking her dog.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIt might not have been crocodiles off the Yorkshire coast, but it still made a great story.
You can read the original story here.
If you’ve had a questionable sighting on the Yorkshire coast, please email [email protected] with your story.