A deadly Great White shark has been spotted off the Westcountry coast, it has been claimed.A holidaymaker from Yorkshire claims he saw a Great White shark off St Ives, Cornwall, at the end of June.
The tourist, described as a "Great White fan" captured on his mobile phone footage of what he believes is one of the deadliest sharks in the ocean emerging from the sea.
However, the footage has been played down by experts and other seafarers.
The film was seen by Bude shark expert and conservationist Richard Peirce, who said: "What you can see is dolphins and then at one stage in the footage, you can see a shark partially breach - it comes half out of the water and splashes in again.
"There is no way I think I or any credible expert could say with any certainty what it is."
But he said there were three or four possibilities - the last one being a Great White.
He said it was most likely the shark was a mako or a porbeagle - a relative of the Great White, and added that there was no proof of Great Whites in British waters, despite suspected sightings in the Westcountry.
But he added: "It's not impossible - I believe we get the occasional Great White shark rocking up in our waters."
Local fishermen and harbour staff were sceptical, however.
St Ives harbourmaster Steve Basset said none of the fishermen or pleasure craft operators had reported spotted a Great White shark, which he would have expected had there been a sighting. He added: "It seems very unlikely to me. There's been a lot of sunfish about and some basking sharks, but I've never heard of a Great White around St Ives.
"I think whoever saw it must have been mistaken. Some people see a fin and they say, 'Oh, it's a Great White' but it's not. It is very easy for people to make a mistake."
Trevor Tyldesly has been a fisherman at St Ives for 20 years and said he had never heard of a Great White shark in local waters. However, he said there had been a lot of basking sharks around recently and someone without expert knowledge could be easily mistaken.
"I was out the other day and there were a couple of big basking sharks. I got my camera out and took some pictures and they came towards me with their mouths open. They looked white, but they were not Great White sharks."
