A paddle boarder has recorded an amazingly close encounter with some rare leatherback turtles.

Rick Weeks was taking his stand-up paddle board for a spin around the pier in Garden City, South Carolina back in April, when a giant turtle surfaced directly under his board.

Weeks managed to keep his balance, although a less experienced paddler might easily have been knocked off.

He then encountered several more of the giant reptiles floating nearby.

Leatherbacks are the largest of all living turtles and the fourth largest reptiles in the world.

They are classified as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN Red List.