Beachgoers have been left stunned after a rare six-foot shark was found washed up on a UK beach for the first time ever.
Mum-of-two Alisha Openshaw thought she had rescued the sea creature when she came across it in the shallows of her local beach in Hampshire and dragged it into deeper waters on Friday.
Though the 38-year-old said she watched it swim away, the shark has now been found dead back on the shore.
It has since been identified as a smalltooth sand tiger shark, a species which is classified as Vulnerable on the Red List of Threatened Species.
The deepwater shark, which is known to be non-aggressive towards humans, is not thought to have been found in UK waters before.
Mum-of-two Alisha Openshaw dragged the smalltooth sand tiger shark out to sea when it turned up on a beach in Hampshire ( Image: Dan Snow/Solent News)
Smalltooth sand tiger sharks normally frequent warmer waters than those surrounding the British Isles.
Strictly protected across the world, the species can grow to 12ft in length and can weigh up to 289 kg.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there are probably fewer than 250 adult sand tiger sharks left in the world.
Efforts are now underway to recover the shark from Lepe Beach in Hampshire’s New Forest for further examinations and a full autopsy.
Ms Openshaw had been on the beach with her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren when she spotted the creature on the beach, which she thought had been there for a ‘good two hours’.
Smalltooth sand tiger sharks are classed as ‘vulnerable’ are not normally found in UK waters ( Image: Solent News & Photo Agency)
Though a group of onlookers were stood watching, no one had helped the shark – so the hairdresser jumped in herself and pulled it into deeper waters, where it swam away.
Ms Openshaw, from Dibden Purlieu in Hampshire, said: “I was heading to the beach for a walk, my mum was already there, so I got took the kids for a nice walk.
“There were a couple of people down there, and they saw the shark splashing. He was splashing around the water around the start, and I got worried that nobody was going to help him.
“At first I wasn’t sure what it could be, but once I got there I could definitely see it was a shark. It must have been there for a good two hours, and I just can’t believe nobody tried to help him.
Despite the 38-year-old’s best efforts, the shark washed ashore the next day ( Image: Solent News & Photo Agency)
She added that she knew she “just wanted to save him” as she never wants “any animal to suffer”.
Alisha pulled the animal from its tail into deeper waters to ensure it was safe and could swim.
After that, the shark then swam away in the direction of the Isle of Wight.
She said: “It was quite big, you kind of just think about it later, only afterwards do you think, ‘Oh I actually rescued a shark’. We must have been in the water for about an hour.”
Despite her best efforts, the shark washed ashore the next day.
Reflecting on the incident, she posted on Facebook: “Just your standard Friday afternoon down the beach! We thought the shark had survived, but I think he may have been found this morning.”
Locals took to social media to air their theories on how the shark arrived so close to home.
One said: “I wonder why he was so off course? Perhaps come up with warmer currents. Poor thing.”
While another commented: “It seems strange as we don’t seem to get the bigger sharks in the Solent, smoothhounds and maybe tope but the porbeagles, threshers and mako seem to stay out the back of the island.”
Others congratulated the mum for her efforts, saying ‘so sad, thank you for trying to save it’ while one person joked ‘don’t think will be swimming at Lepe any more’.
