Fisherman stunned after reeling in record-breaking 7ft shark off Devon coast in hour-long battle

A BIG game fisherman has reeled in a record-breaking 550lb shark in British waters.

Simon Davidson, 39, fought for an hour when the porbeagle, which was almost 7ft long and 6ft wide, took his bait.

The catch seven miles out from the Devon coast beat the official record of 507lbs - and six people had to hold it down to measure it before throwing it back into the water.

The plumber from Kettering, Northamptonshire, said: "My bait got taken and I didn't think it was a big fish because it hadn't started to fight yet.

"Then I reeled it into the side of the boat and it was a real monster.

"Suddenly it took off through the water and pulled around 600 metres of my line and it was a brutal battle to pull it back in.

"It was an hour of agony. You get to the point where your legs and arms are shaking and you just think your body is going to give up.

"When you saw it in the water, you'd think it was a Great White. It's terrifying to think that sharks as huge as that are prowling our waters."

Simon started as a fresh water angler before moving into big game fishing, and was deliberately looking for big sharks earlier this month.

Porbeagles are relatives of the Great White but are not thought to be dangerous.

The official record for the biggest porbeagle shark caught in the UK stands at 507lbs.

It was caught in 1993 by Scots fisherman Chris Bennett off the Orkney Isles.

Potential record fish must be weighed on land for them to be considered an official record by the British Records Fish Committee, meaning they have to be killed.

Most anglers are unwilling to do that, so they measure the shark and estimate its weight.

Along with blue sharks and thresher sharks, porbeagles - Lamna nasus in Latin - are native to UK waters.

They are large powerful sharks but are not considered harmful to humans as they rarely come towards the shore.