Charity Swimmer Surrounded By 50 Sharks While Off The Coast Of UK

A man training for a charity swim was surrounded by 50 sharks off the coast of Dorset. You can see footage of the sharks circling him here:

Oly Rush was doing a late-night swim off Poole, and was around 240ft from the shore when he felt something knock his leg.

He looked up to be greeted with the terrifying site of a whole pod of smooth hound sharks, which then circled him for around 15 minutes while nibbling at his hands and feet. It's a massive nope from me.

Oly set off at around midnight for the swim in preparation for the charity challenge - and due to the the late hour, was unable to see more than a few metres ahead.

He stopped alongside pal Ashley McPherson, who was accompanying him on a kayak, as he felt the nudges to his legs.

Brave Oly decided to duck under the water with his phone while Ashley shined a torch, so they could reveal what was lurking below.

BNPS

BNPS

The men were shocked to see dozens of pairs of eyes staring back at them - eventually counting a whopping 50 sharks.

Oly, a plaster, says the longest was around 3ft in length.

He said: "Before we set off I had joked about being attacked by sharks and we were laughing about it.

"It was my first night-time swim, so it was pretty unnerving when I suddenly came up against something in the water.

"Then things started to nibble at my hands and feet, the parts which weren't covered by my wet suit.

"When Ashley shone his torch there were all these eyes staring at us - we counted around 50 sharks.

BNPS

"When I realised what it was I just enjoyed the experience - it was fantastic to see so many sharks in the wild just behaving naturally and in such good health. I felt very privileged.

"I got my phone which was in a waterproof cover and managed to film some of them.

"After about 15 minutes I swam on and left them to it. I think they might have been attracted to a flashing light in my tow float that I swim with.

"The sharks' nibbles didn't hurt because they don't have teeth."

Smooth hound sharks live off a diet of crustaceans, shellfish and molluscs, and are often found off the south and west of England.

Instead of typical sharks' teeth, they have blunt 'crushing plates', which have earnt them the nickname gummy sharks.

Oly is preparing for a 24-hour, non-stop swim around the Isle of Wight, which he aims to complete at the end of the month for charity.

Topics: Sharks, UK News, Animals

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19