A SHARK which was saved at West Bay was later found dead washed up on the beach at Burton Bradstock.

Brave Jeannette Longley waded into the water to drag the 6ft long fish – believed to be a blue shark – back into the water after spotting it at West Bay.

But the animal later died after being swept ashore near the Hive Beach Café at Burton Bradstock.

Graham Wiffen, Hive business development manager, said: “A local was walking his dog and said he had seen the shark on the beach.

“It certainly created a lot of interest.”

Mr Wiffen added: “It looked as if it may have just given birth as there was a sack which had come out of it lower down.”

The shark washed up near the chalets onwhere Jeanette leapt into action to carry it back into the sea.

The 56-year-old rolled the creature down the shingle and was buffeted by waves as she made several attempts to pull it to safety before succeeding.

Jeanette was walking her dog Frankie Lampard with her friend Natasha Butcher, 19, when they saw the shark. Natasha caught Jeanette’s rescue attempts on her mobile phone camera.

Jeanette said: “I am saddened.

“Sometimes they beach themselves without meaning to.”

She added: “We did look on the internet and it did look like a blue shark.

“I think it was quite a young one as it wasn’t that big.”

A spokesman for the Sea Life Park in Weymouth looked at pictures of the creature and said that it was believed to be a blue shark.

THE FASTEST SWIMMERS

BLUE sharks can grow up to 12 and half feet long although generally they range between six and eight feet.

They are not as dangerous as great white or tiger sharks but have been known to harass divers and have on occasion attacked humans.

They are among the most abundant sharks in the ocean but are also among the most fished.

Their habitat includes waters around the British isles but it is rare for them to wash up in Dorset.

The sharks’ range stretches from Scandinavia to the South Pacific.

Blue sharks eat squid as well as cuttlefish, lobster, octopuses and crabs, The sharks are characterised by a sleek, tapered body with an elongated tail. They are among the fastest swimming sharks.

Some estimates place its top speed at 60mph although it likely to be near 25 to 40mph.

The blue shark is at low risk of extinction.