Children flee water screaming after 10ft shark swims into Cornwall harbour

The harmless basking shark, the second biggest fish in the sea, is a native of UK waters

A 10ft shark has been spotted lurking in a Cornwall harbour, causing children to start screaming as they rushed out of the water.

The children weren’t aware that the juvenile basking shark, which approached St Ives Harbour at 9pm on Tuesday, was actually harmless.

Around 30 children and teenagers fled the water when they spotted the ominous dorsal fin around 20ft away in the clear blue water, as the shark swam along the harbour wall and beach.

The basking shark was gliding around the Cornwall harbour, feeding on plankton (BNPS)

Basking sharks can grow up to 26ft (7.9m) long - but according to Andy Narbett of Tiger Lilly Boat Trip St Ives, they are harmless.

Mr Narbett took a photo of the huge shark, excited to see a species which hasn’t visited the bay for years.

“It was incredible to see it so close; it is very rare as we haven’t seen any basking sharks for some years in the bay. The poor kids who were in the water must have only been 20ft from it,” he told The Telegraph.

He said the children “didn’t realise it was harmless”, so they began “screaming and got straight out” of the sea.

“At a guess there were 20 kids playing on the small beach and eight in the water on paddle boards. I went on social media and joked afterwards that Jaws had entered the harbour” he added.

Basking sharks are the biggest fish inhabiting UK waters (YouTube)

Basking sharks, the UK’s biggest fish which can reach over 10,000lbs when fully grown, were once fished for their meat, fins and liver oil - but became protected in 1998 due to overexploitation and declining numbers.

They are the second-largest living species of shark and are filter feeders - meaning they do not hunt actively, but are passive sharks which swim with their mouths wide open to feed on plankton and other minute sealife.

One of just three species which feed on plankton, they enter shallow waters in the UK during spring and summer in order to feed.