Jaw-dropping photos show shark just off UK coast where kids had been swimming moments before | The Sun

A HUGE shark was spotted by shocked holidaymakers just meters from kids off a popular beach.

To the horror of Carmel Richardson, who was enjoying a jaunt on her friend's boat at Gwynedd, Wales, a massive creature appeared below them.

A fin, belonging to a shark, could be seen above the water as it swam close to several kids on an inflatable dingy.

In the clip, the tourists are amazed to capture the rarely seen marine animal, and Carmel shouted: "Oh my God.

"See the size of that."

Luckily, the children in close proximity to the suspected basking shark were quickly pulled back to their boat.

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But Carmel, from Crosby, Merseyside, told NorthWalesLive she was honoured to have witnessed "a once-in-a-lifetime experience".

She explained the boat was only just outside the safe-swim zone, marked by yellow buoys.

"The sea was quite quiet – there weren’t many boats on the water – when my friend Sylia Heath saw something and asked what it was,"added the 57-year-old.

“I said it was probably a dolphin. As we got closer, my son Stephen, who was on a jet ski, said, “That’s not a dolphin, that’s a shark!”

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"It’s not something you expect to see near a beach in Wales.

“The fin was much bigger than a dolphin’s and when we got closer we could see the size of its body."

Carmel estimated the shark was about 15ft in length, while the boat was just marginally bigger at 18ft.

The stunned holidaymaker said they wanted to respect the shark's space and quickly left the area.

"The next day I told the beach warden about it and he said it was probably a basking shark," she added.

These creatures are passive and pose no danger to humans most of the time.

However, due to their enormous size and rough skin, it is always best to avoid a close encounter.

The sighting comes as swimmers in Kent were horrified when they saw a fin popping up among the waves during an evening swim.

The basking shark sparked panic and red flags were raised at the Sunny Sands beach in Folkestone.

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Meanwhile, in Pembrokeshire, a 12ft shark was spotted in ankle deep water.

Another was caught swimming in a marina in Torquay, Devon, giving a group of learner paddleboarders a fright.

What are basking sharks and how big are they?

Basking sharks are the second largest species of fish, after whale sharks.

Grey-brown adults grow to an average of 20-26ft and weigh five tons – but they can be much bigger.

The largest accurately measured was caught in Canada in 1851 and weighed 16 tons.

It was 40.3ft (12.27m) long.

Specimens longer than 33ft are rarely seen these days because over-fishing has reduced their numbers.

Basking sharks have enormous mouths more than three feet wide, with jaws that stretch open as they feed in shallow waters close to shore.

Their babies are huge as well. They are born, measuring five or six feet long, after a gestation thought to last from one to three years.

They are a protected red list species, considered vulnerable worldwide and endangered in the North East Atlantic

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