Brave lifeguard 'punched' massive 12ft shark in English Channel as panicked swimmers flee to safety

A brave lifeguard struck a huge 12ft shark that was swimming in the English Channel as panicked swimmer fled to safety.

St Ouen's Bay, along Jersey's northwestern coast, was shut down at approximately 10.40am on Saturday morning after the suspected shark was spotted just 40 metres from the shore.

RNLI lifeguard Tom Rolls revealed that his colleague Nick courageously paddled out towards the creature on a rescue board.

"He even said he kind of punched it as he was paddling, so it must have been really close to the surface," Tom said.

"It was darkish grey, about 10 to 12 feet long, then it swam away really quickly from under his board."

Following the shocking discovery, red flags were immediately raised and the beach was locked down as a safety measure.

The species of the shark was never confirmed, although witnesses were astonished by its sheer size which was roughly equivalent to two fully-grown adults laid end to end.

Lifeguards were initially sceptical when the first reports came in, but further calls from a neighbouring beach confirmed a shark had been seen in the water.

Jesse Heddercott, a 16-year-old surf instructor, was in the middle of a lesson when the evacuation order arrived.

"Nothing like this has ever happened in Jersey before, so it's pretty crazy," he told the BBC.

"We thought it was just a tuna, or something, but then another lifeguard spotted it and it was confirmed to be probably a shark. They red-flagged the beach and we all had to get out."

The animal eventually headed south, clearing the area.

Richard Peirce, a wildlife campaigner and author of books on sharks in British waters, said he doubted the creature was a Great White.

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He told the Metro: "I haven't seen a good picture of a dorsal fin that might have enabled me to have a stab at the species.

"It has to be a good picture because if you get a good enough side on a dorsal fin, it's a bit like a human fingerprint."

A basking shark was the most likely candidate if the dorsal fin was large, he suggested, though he could not say for certain.

Mr Peirce also defended the decision to clear the beach, adding it was a "sensible" choice to close the beach until the fin disappeared.

More than 40 shark species inhabit UK waters, including some of the fastest and most migratory on the planet.

Basking sharks, which move slowly, typically appear along British coastlines between April and October to feed on zooplankton, most commonly off south-west England and Scotland's west coast.

The sighting came just months after the carcass of an endangered smalltooth sand tiger shark washed up on a Jersey beach — a deep-water species normally found in warm, tropical seas.

Last year saw 12 fatal shark attacks reported worldwide, yet humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks annually, largely through overfishing.

"Sharks are under far more threat from humans than humans are ever likely to be from sharks," Mr Peirce assured.

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