A dolphin found on the shallow part of a beach was rescued in the Philippines.

The 3ft-long creature was spotted by children playing near the docked fishing boats in Masbate City on June 17.

Concerned villagers tried to push it back to sea but the creature appeared to refuse and stayed in the shallows.

They called the local officials to help and transferred the creature to a nearby rehabilitation centre.

Villager Gerbin Buro said: ‘It was the first dolphin that we saw here. There were no storms that week so we were confused about what pushed the animal to our place.

‘We tried to push it back to sea but it resisted and swam back to the sandy part.'

After the incident, wildlife officers informed the villagers that it was dangerous to force dolphins back to the depths after showing up on a beach as they could be seriously ill.

Villagers could also contract diseases from a sick marine creature so they recommend calling experts for help rather than handling it themselves.