Beach closed after large shark spotted off coast

Lifeguards had to ask people to get out of the water in Jersey after a reported sighting of a large shark.

A spokesperson for the coastguard said a dark grey shark, about 10-12ft in length, was seen off St Ouen's Bay at about 10:40 BST.

It said the animal entered the bay from the west and then headed south, about 40m (33ft) from the water's edge.

A red flag was raised, and people were not allowed in the water for an hour across the whole bay until lifeguards had inspected the area.

The bay reopened an hour later, after the checks.

BBC Jersey reporter Claire Peters, who was at the scene, said: "We heard over the loudspeaker the lifeguards say, 'you're not going to believe this, but we've got to get everybody out of the water - we are red flagging the beach because a shark has been spotted further up the bay'.

"Since then, people who came out of the water, surfers, swimmers and families have been standing around watching the RNLI water vehicle do sweeps of the bay."

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