A swimmer had a terrifyingly close encounter with a whale shark in the Philippines.

The tourist was snorkelling around their boat when the large marine creature emerged and swam around the vessel in Cebu province on November 11.

Footage shows the man in orange life vest clinging to the edge of the boat as he tried to avoid the animal that was only inches from him in the water.

The holidaymaker Jeffrey Gasulas said: ‘I did not expect to have a fun moment with the whale shark. It was gentle and friendly.'

Whale shark watching has become a popular eco-tourism activity in Cebu province due to seasonal aggregations of these gigantic but docile sharks.

Tour boats, most of the time, ferry snorkelers and divers to spots where these mostly juvenile sharks come to be hand-fed krill and plankton to observe them up close. However, the activity sparked controversy as it disrupted the animals' natural feeding.