A DIVER got the shock of his life as he came face-to-face with a shark off Portland.

Clive Thomas, 44, has spoken of the moment the shark hurtled towards him as he was spear-fishing with two friends.

The free-diver managed to swim to safety after the encounter with three-metre Porbeagle shark He said he was ‘pushed’ and ‘thumped’ by the shark as it continued to circle him and his float of already caught fish.

Despite the close encounter Porbeagles are not considered a threat to humans and was probably attracted by the fish Mr Thomas had caught.

Fellow divers Matt Newman, 23, and Will Rowles, 19, both of Weymouth, watched in amazement as he tackled the predator with the end of his spear-gun.

The trio were diving at a reef between Tar Rocks and Blacknor Point.

They had ventured out with floats used to carry their fish and alert nearby boats of their whereabouts.

Mr Thomas, of Radipole Park Drive in Weymouth, left his diving companions while he fished on the deeper side of the reef. He believes the shark was attracted to the blood-soaked water caused by the fish he had already killed.

He said: “It’s definitely an experience I never want to happen again.

“My heart was pounding and it was like something from Jaws. I was fishing at the deep side of the reef.

“I pulled my float to me, took the spear out of the fish and then felt a hard thump in my rib cage that almost took my breath away.

“The next thing I knew I was pushed and thumped around in the water.

“I felt something very rough over my shoulder nearly taking my mask off and I could see nothing but a wall of grey.

“I tried to push the shark away and watched as it turned in front of me with its dorsal fin two-feet out of the water.

“I stared it dead in the eye, it was about three-metres long with a very deep body.”

He added: “I think it was trying to get to the fish on my float so I pushed my float away.

“The shark followed it but kept coming back and circling me in the water, I hit it a few times in the nose with my spear-gun.

“I hit it one last time and it moved quickly out of sight so we all headed to the shore before it reappeared and followed us really close to the land. It was a beautiful creature and quite the experience.”

Not a threat to humans

THE Porbeagle shark is a member of the Great White family although not considered a threat to humans.

They are sometimes spotted in the deep waters off Portland Bill and St Albans Head and reach a typical length of two-and-a-half-metres and a weight of 135 kilograms. This encounter comes after a three-metre long Porbeagle was caught off the coast of Boscastle in Cornwall in May. It is considered the largest game fish in the UK with the meat and fins of the Porbeagle highly valued.

Matt Smith, Chesil Centre officer of the Dorset Wildlife Trust, said: “Porbeagle sharks are extremely rare and are critically endangered. It is a very unique experience to swim with one as they are usually very shy creatures.

“They are fish eating animals so I imagine the shark was confused between the fish scent in the water surrounding the reef, it probably just knocked into the diver because of this.

“They are rarely seen so it really was a special event.”