JAWS-DROPPING
Moment massive shark swims inches from harbour in Cornwall just as tourist flock to beaches for summer holidays
SWIMMERS were ordered to stay out of the water after a massive shark lurked just inches from a harbour in Cornwall.
The 9ft-long predator was filmed close to the shore in the popular Cornish holiday town of St Ives.
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Experts believe it was a blue shark which got lost while hunting and have told bathers to stay clear until it has left the area.
Archie Pickin and Harry Hocking, both 16, were standing on the harbour slipway when the shark swam past around 9.30am yesterday.
The friends managed to catch the shark on camera and Archie said: "We heard someone say about a shark and we didn't believe it at first. It doesn't exactly happen every day.
"It was really big."
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Harry added: “It was swimming along for a good two to three minutes and went towards west pier before leaving the harbour.
"A lot of people noticed and by the time it left there were dozens of people watching from the harbour wall.
“People have already been saying they won’t be swimming now."
Blue sharks have been known to go for humans but there have been very few attacks recorded.
John Richardson of the Shark Trust said: "They are predominantly an oceanic, open water species, and not commonly found close to shore.
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''But it is certainly not unprecedented to see one in such shallow waters.
"To see a free-swimming blue shark close to shore like this is a real privilege.
“If this shark remains in St Ives harbour, the Shark Trust advises people to give it plenty of space until it moves back offshore to its usual habitat.
"Due to the confined nature of the harbour, which could hinder the shark’s ability to naturally move away from disturbance, the trust strongly advises people not to get into the water with the shark.
“We can only speculate on why this shark has come so close to shore.
"Possible explanations include injury or illness, or perhaps disorientation after following prey inshore. But this is speculation only."
Blue sharks in British waters
Blue sharks have been known to go for humans and for boats out in sea and are therefore classified as a "dangerous" species.
There are also reports of attacks following air or sea disasters with accounts suggesting shipwrecked sailors have been maimed by them.
Blue sharks have been reported to circle swimmers or divers for 15 minutes or more before going in for a bite.
The beasts are described as "not overly aggressive" but should be approached with caution, as they may attempt a "test bite".
British waters are home to more than 40 different species of shark, including the second largest fish in the world, the basking shark.
The Shark Trust describes blue sharks as "seasonal visitors" to UK waters.
During the summer the predators can can appear in the seas around Britain as part of their highly migratory lifestyle.
There has not been an unprovoked attack involving a blue shark in British waters since 1847.
The sighting came after fisherman caught 20 sharks off the British coast - in just one day.
The group reeled in the impressive haul of blue and porbeagle sharks during a 24-hour fishing trip in waters around Devon.
And, elsewhere, angler George Simmonds reeled in one of the biggest ever to be caught in British waters.
The 51-year-old spent two hours hauling in a monster 300lb thresher shark off the coast of Dale, Pembrokeshire.
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Mr Simmonds, of Llanelli, said: "It's so rare and difficult to land a thresher shark as they are so large. In the shark world, it's up there at the top of the list.
"It was so big it got caught in the hatch door of the boat as we tried to get it on board.
"The body was 6ft 8in long and the tail was 6ft - it was the length of the boat.
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