A HUGE shark was caught on camera leaping out of the sea off the coast of Devon.
The 11ft thresher shark was snapped by Robert Hughes – who was trying to take a picture of some nearby dolphins.
He was focusing his lens on the friendly aquatic creatures when he heard a young boy shout that there was a shark.
Robert – who runs boat tours – then quickly captured the amazing pictures of a thresher shark jumping clear of the water near Torquay.
Robert, of Devon Sea Safaris, said: “We were on our 8.30am morning wildlife tour with a full boat of 12 passengers when the sighting was made.
“We had just left some seals at Hopes Nose and started watching the short beaked common dolphins by Ore Stone when they began to act very strangely.
“I was waiting for a dolphin to jump and I had the camera ready when the 3.5m thresher came right into shot.
“It was one of the kids who spotted it first and when it breached the water for the second time I managed to get it on camera.”
He added: “The thresher is a beautiful creature and doesn’t pose any threat to humans.
“They’re not at all dangerous and would be very unlikely to attack someone.”
Meanwhile, a blue shark was spotted lurking off the coast of nearby Plymouth.
Incredible video footage shows the animal swimming with divers – and even nibbling the camera.
The rare thresher sharks aren’t the only sharks which have been spotted in the region though, as this incredible video shows blue sharks swimming in Devon waters.
And experts recently predicted that hammerhead and great white sharks could soon be swimming off the UK coast.
A new study revealed 10 species of sharks – such as hammerheads and blacktip sharks – currently found in Mediterranean and African waters may be swimming in British seas within 30 years as the climate changes.
