A mum was stunned to find a shark washed up on her local beach while enjoying a stroll with her children.
Tasha Court, 34, spotted the huge predator at 4.30pm on Tuesday (31 January) on Paignton beach in Devon.
Her sons, 10-year-old Jack and seven-year-old Archie, were amazed at the sight.
Pictures taken show the long shark lying on wet sand near the shallows.
“We thought it was just a large fish but got closer and saw it was a shark,” Tasha, from Torquay told NeedToKnow.online.
“I tried to see if it was alive but apparently it had been there for a few hours.
“My kids found it very interesting. We opened its mouth and it had razor teeth.”
Tasha put it back in the water after making the discovery, deciding it was best to return the dead shark to its home.
Just half an hour earlier, local dad Ashley John Sims had also spotted the shark and says it was still alive at 4pm.
He told NeedToKnow.online: “It was sad because when we found it, it was still alive, struggling but still alive.
“We tried for half an hour but sadly we couldn’t do anything. My six-year-old daughter Cydney was very upset.”
According to Devon Wildlife Trust, there are several types of sharks that may frequent local waters.
These include the Porbeagle shark, Thresher shark, Blue shark, Tope shark and Basking shark – though it is not clear what species Tasha discovered.
