A pod of pilot whales caused concern by swimming into harbour waters in Orkney.

On Thursday afternoon, onlookers at Hatston Pier in Kirkwall were given a rare chance to get close-up views of the mammals.

There had been fears that the whales could get distressed and beach themselves, but they made their way back out to sea after a few hours.

Volunteers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue are continuing to monitor the situation.

A spokeswoman told STV News that they believe the pod is part of the same group seen near the islands of Sanday and Stronsay last weekend.

She said: "The pod left the pier and headed north. We're still keeping an eye on them at the moment.

"We're trying to establish whether it's the same group - we're hoping to check IDs. But we believe it is as one had a head injury similar to one from the other group."