Terrifying GoPro footage shows diver fend off a great white shark with a spear

The sea has enough hidden dangers without sharks getting involved.

Earlier this year, John Potgieter and his colleagues, Francois Smuts, Rene' Nel and Erik Fourie, were swimming on the bottom of the seabed in Arniston - 209 km east of Cape Town - when he encountered the great white, known by its scientific name Carcharodon carcharias.

In the video, the fisherman was diving 19 metres under the water in search of edible reef fish when the shark cropped up just one arm’s length away from Potgieter.

The diver then frantically swims upwards towards the surface of the water before shouting out to the group of divers to stay vigilant.

The video also shows a man sitting in a nearby boat, while another diver is located in the same body of water.

After urging his fellow divers to get to safety, the fisherman dunks his head below the water and realises that the shark was now located just below his feet.

He said: “I could not believe this shark had followed me up to the surface.

"I have seen many great whites and never see aggressive behaviour like this. All I could think was get to the boat and get the heck out of the water."

Their boat quickly travels over to collect Potgieter and Fourie, who made sure to safely stow away their spearguns into the boat before bringing themselves to the safety of the vessel.

However, the fisherman lost the third diver, Smuts, before rushing to pull him out of the water while the great white was still circling in the area.

Potgieter exclaimed to the rest of his team: “Did you see? It almost ate me!”