Ian Bullus sails his fishing boat which was attacked by a 7ft shark (Pic: SWNS)
Ian Bullus sails his fishing boat which was attacked by a 7ft shark (Pic: SWNS)
A KILLER shark launched a terrifying attack on a small fishing boat near one of Britain’s most popular holiday resorts.
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The seven-foot beast rammed the wooden vessel trying to capsize it, then menacingly circled a second boat.
Mackerel boat skipper Ian Bullus, 60, watched as the dorsal fin zig-zagged towards him in St Ives Bay, off Cornwall.
He said: “It just slammed into the boat. Then its head came out of the water by about a foot. It slammed the side of the boat with its body and tail.
“I’ve been fishing here all my life and I’ve never had a shark ram my boat.
“If I had been in a smaller one it could have easily had a bite at my legs.”
The shark is believed to be a deadly oceanic whitetip which has never before been seen near Britain. Ian immediately headed inland in his 16ft white boat, The Dreamcatcher, to report the shark.
Ten minutes later the monster circled two fishermen on the second boat.
One said: “I am 100 per cent sure it was an oceanic whitetip. The water was crystal clear and we had a perfect view.”
Oceanic whitetips are believed to be responsible for more human deaths than great whites and hammerheads.
Shark (Pic: PA)
Last December they were blamed for killing a 70-year-old German woman and attacking four other tourists off Egypt.
St Ives deputy harbourmaster Steve Bassett confirmed the reported sighting. He said yesterday: “It’s getting a bit like the film Jaws now. People are starting to panic, but it has only been spotted once and not positively identified.”
St Ives has four beaches popular with surfers and families. The town’s population doubles to 20,000 each summer.
Mayor Ron Tulley, 66, said yesterday: “The sighting was a mile to sea so it’s too far out to pose a danger to bathers.”
It is believed rising sea temperatures could have led the shark to Cornwall.