Boy, 6, finds tooth from a giant prehistoric shark – three times the size of great white

A BOY aged six found a tooth from a giant prehistoric shark three times the size of great whites.

The rare 4in megalodon gnasher is 20million years old.

Sammy Shelton has already taken it to school and his Beaver Scouts.

He said: “I’m very pleased and will be keeping it safe.”

His family had been walking on Bawdsey beach, Suffolk, just after high tide last Sunday.

Dad Peter, 60, of Bradwell, Norfolk, said: “Sammy was hoping to find the odd shark tooth when he ­spotted this giant one.

"We ­realised straightaway it was a megalodon’s but didn’t know how rare they were until we talked to other ­fossil hunters.

"People were getting quite excited.”

Megalodons featured in Jason Statham’s 2018 flick The Meg.

They grew to 60ft and had a 10ft-wide mouth with 276 teeth.

They died out three million years ago.

Megalodon expert Ben Garrod said only one or two teeth were found on UK shores each year.

He said Sammy’s was a top specimen as the enamel and root were still visible.

Ben added: “I’ve looked for one since I was Sammy’s age and never found one.

"It’s a once-in-a lifetime find.”