IT has been a wet, dismal winter; just ask anyone in the south west. But one group has been relishing the wet and windy conditions: surfers.

In wind and rain-lashed Devon and Cornwall there have been reports of waves of up to 30ft (10m) high: so high, in fact, that there have been fears inexperienced surfers could put themselves in danger.

There hasn’t been anything quite so dramatic on the North Yorkshire coast.

But when picture editor Martin Oates went to Scarborough last Sunday for a day out he was still treated to a spectacle.

It was a surprisingly bright, sunny day. The tide was out at North Bay, but the rollers were crashing in – and far out there must have been about 40 surfers riding the waves, he says.

“It was a real spectacle – and quite an attraction for the hundreds of visitors who were watching.”

Being a photographer, Martin tends to take his camera everywhere with him. So he took out his telephoto lens, and snapped these amazing photographs.

You’re unlikely to see anything quite so dramatic this weekend, if you were thinking of heading up to Scarborough for a spot of surf-watching yourself, unfortunately.

Waves aren’t expected to be more than 1ft today, according to the Scarborough North Bay surf forecast. And tomorrow, the outlook is flat – no real surf at all.

But at least the weather shouldn’t be too bad if you are just looking for a walk along the beach. It will be dry and fairly bright with sunny spells this morning, though clouding over this afternoon, according to the Met Office.

Tomorrow there will be strong winds – but at least it should stay mainly dry.

As for surfing– next Friday and Saturday are the days, with the surf expected to reach a height of up to nine feet at North Bay on Friday evening. And there should still be four foot waves by lunchtime the following day, according to the surf forecast.

Just don’t forget your camera…