Moment 'mini Jaws' is spotted lurking off British coast with children playing just metres away
Dubbed a 'mini Jaws', the terrifying creature is thought to be a 2m porbeagle and was spotted off Aberdovey (also known as Aberdyfi) in Wales on Sunday afternoon.
Owen Davies managed to capture the remarkable moment the endangered shark - which can be a danger to humans - was seen swimming in circles with the dorsal fin breaching the water surface.
Mr Davies, 67, said he was on his way home after a few days in the area and noticed a crowd of people with their phone cameras out as a toddler played on the shoreline.
He said: 'The previous day I'd noticed a lot of huge barrelled jelly fish around there but they don't normally catch peoples attention.
'I slowed down as I passed and then I saw a dorsal fin, so I pulled over to have a better look.
'I'm 67 years of age, born and bread in Aberdovey and have never seen a shark in the river, as kids we used to see the odd porpoise swimming up the estuary but never a shark.'
The shark - which can grow up to 12 feet long and weigh as much as 600 pounds - was spotted 'four foot' off the old lifeboat slipway in Penhelig, Aberdovey.
He said: 'I was really surprised, I've never seen a shark in the estuary before.'
Another local, Simon Howes, said: 'Wow shark in Aberdyfi.'
The porbeagle shark is a species of mackerel shark that inhabits cold and temperate waters of the North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere.
The impressive beast is also member of the Lamnidae family and is one of the closest living relatives of Great whites.
But the shark was believed to be injured or ill and had to be rescued by divers.
The coastguard set up a boundary around the shark that looked in distress so people wouldn't approach it as divers helped the endangered animal.
The shark is believed to have survived and swum back out of the estuary with the rising tide.
A coastguard spokesperson said: 'HM Coastguard Aberystwyth were tasked at the request of MRCC Milford Haven.
'To assist the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, BDMLR with a two-metre long juvenile Porbeagle shark swimming in the area.
'Between the pier and the bandstand that was thought to be ill or injured and in danger of beaching itself.
'The CRT were tasked to provide safety cover for BDMLR and also to provide a bit of crowd control.
'To ensure no members of the public put themselves in harm's way, or inadvertently caused the shark further distress.
'After low tide and no further sightings, 'mini jaws' had seemingly made it out of the bay and so the CRT were stood down.'
Porbeagle sharks are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN globally.
In the UK, they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is illegal to intentionally catch or kill them in British waters.
Although porbeagles are physically capable of attacking humans, very few attacks have been attributed to the species.
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