A giant whale has been spotted by the Thames – but it's not what you think.

The marine mammal in St Andrew’s Gardens, Gravesend, was part of the council’s family fun day.

Although fake, residents couldn’t be blamed if they thought the famous whale Benny the Beluga had returned.

In 2018, Gravesend was visited by the rare, impressive mammal which was first spotted swimming in the waters by two shocked bird watchers.

Native to the Arctic, the beluga whale grabbed headlines and a string of sightings were reported over the following months.

But those reports diminished over the winter, with experts speculating Benny had travelled east of the town and made his way out to sea on the trail of migratory fish.

The last confirmed sighting was in December 2018, further downstream from Gravesend.

But this week the town has had another whale – although only until 4pm yesterday.

Gravesham council invited people to "see inside the whale" as it hosted a free, family fun day.

It was also asking visitors what improvements could be made to St Andrew’s Gardens as part of its scheme the Big Conversation to find out what matters to residents where they live.