They're back! The year's most predictable news story returns to UK waters

Every year, normally late July or early August, the media goes basking shark crazy when the hulking great fish turn up in UK waters, having wintered somewhere more interesting.

You can guarantee every mainstream news editor in the country adds the basking sharks' reappearance to every new diary they get given for Christmas, even before they add their own family's birthdays, so dependent have they become on this very visual story. Last year I branded it the milestone that marks the beginning of the 'silly season'.

Just yesterday I predicted in our daily press briefing that the shark story would start earlier this year, given the only other story out there is the rather tiring government meltdown and MPs are already shaping up to ship out for the summer recess which will mean the media have to move their cameras out of Westminster and go in search of news elsewhere.

As sure as shark eggs is eggs, the BBC is already down in Cornwall this morning with its long lenses trained on the waves looking for fins.