Search for perfect wave takes surfer 4,000 miles to Devon

Such was the appeal of the phenomenon that local surfers were joined by a kindred spirit from the US who travelled 4,000 miles across the Atlantic to experience riding the "Oyster Falls".

Anthony Sullivan, from Tampa, and his friend Ralph Freeman, from Croyde, made the journey to Devon after studying weather charts for more than a year to predict when the waves were likely to strike. The pair correctly predicted they would appear in a two-hour window on Saturday morning, and were the only two people brave enough to tackle them.

The waves are so big that the pair had to be towed a mile out to sea by jetskis to pick them up. Once on their boards they travelled a distance of around 200 yards for up to a minute - at speeds topping 20mph.

Mr Freeman, who lives in Croyde, said: "Normally you can just paddle yourself in but these are impossible to get near without help so we had to be towed and let off at the point the wave breaks. I've been surfing for ten years and those were the biggest waves I have ever seen in the UK."

The waves are caused when a strong post-storm tide hits a large rut in Croyde's Oyster Reef, which was accidentally created during the Second World War by American soldiers testing bombs in the sea bed.

Surfers are able to study Met Office charts to predict when the waves will arrive in a two hour window - with the latest hitting shores at 10.30am on Saturday.

A tropical storm had spent three days in the mid-Atlantic before moving towards Iceland - sending a massive swell towards the UK - and the surfers knew the time was right.

Mr Sullivan has spent nearly £15,000 in his quest to ride the wave, which he developed a fascination for while growing up near the coast at Braunton, Devon. He moved to Tampa, Florida, 13 years ago and has surfed giant waves all over the world.

He said: "By Thursday the charts were looking absolutely perfect. It was too good to be true and I could barely stand to watch it. I used to sit and watch the waves break as a kid but now I have actually surfed them. It was a dream come true."