A European professional surfer has been sighted having a free surf before 11am, a unconfirmed source has said. The surfer, sporting a brand new stick covered in sponsors stickers, and accompanied by a photographer and videographer, entered the water near La Graviere in Hossegor, at approximately 10.25 am.

“It was a real surprise,” said Antony Fontaine, who was in the water when the remarkable event went down. “I’ve seen loads of pro surfers surf out there, especially when the waves are good, but I had never seen one out freesurfing before 11 o’clock. It was shocking.”

The surfer was unavailable for comment, but has been described in various surfing magazines as “a bit of a nightowl”, “a renowned pants man” and a “free spirit”. His filmer, who refused to be named, did admit that, “I was surprised as anyone. I mean he’s been forced up for an early heat, and the night before we have often talked about getting up early for a free surf, but he’s never actually gone and done it. I’m not sure what went wrong this morning.”

The professional surfer, despite an obvious bedhead and early disorientation, caught quite a few waves, and surfed for a 90 minutes before the wind came up. He was last overhead saying that he thought it probably wasn’t worth getting up so  and that it was time for a nap.