Terrifying moment beachgoers spot ‘shark fin’ in shallows at popular UK beach
THIS is the terrifying moment beachgoers spot a “shark fin” in the shallows at a popular UK beach.
As families enjoyed the waves at a beach in Waxham, Norfolk, on Sunday, many spectators were horrified to see a suspected shark on the horizon.
Oliver Phillips, 38, spotted the two metre pointed fin on the east coast.
The “shark” was swimming close to the sands as Brits frolicked about in swimwear completely unaware.
Oliver told The Sun: “The fin was absolutely massive – we just couldn’t believe it.
“It was travelling up the coastline and looked like it was hunting.
“We began telling people on the beach about the shark but there was so much denial.
“I told a swimmer who was incredibly close – you should have seen the look on his face, he just ran out of the water.”
The hospital care worker, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, added: “Never in my life have I seen something like that.
“It looked like a great white fin more than the other possibilities. I didn’t see its teeth but it was a massive beast.
“It’s in Waxham as well which is full of seals, so it’s a prime area for them.”
After quizzing locals Oliver discovered they had spotted basking sharks, orcas and dolphins in the area before.
And tourists visiting parts of the Norfolk coast had reported seeing small sharks washed up on beaches – including dogfish and smooth-hounds.
Despite it giving a fright to some, a great white expert confirmed it was not the deadly beast.
Dr Georgia Jones, who has a PhD in the fish and is the founder of charity SharkStuff, said: “It is a grey seal.
“It is very common for people to see what appears to be a fin out at sea – but it is actually a seal performing something called ‘bottling’.
“This is how they rest or sleep – they hang or bob vertically in the water with just their heads sticking out.
“It’s a way of conserving energy, but it can look a bit like a shark fin.
“Several times a year there are reports of fins in the sea, when actually they are just seals resting.
“It happens really often.
“There is a very close relative of the great white that you get in UK waters called the porbeagle shark.
“But on this occasion, I believe it’s a bottling seal.”
Local experts at Great Yarmouth Sealife Centre also agreed.
But there are few reports of a fish with a two metre fin encroaching on the shore.
Fears were growing last night over the safety of thousands of Brits who flock to the area and nearby Great Yarmouth.
It comes after dead seals, some chewed in half, were spotted on Waxham beach in 2017.