Pictures of Selsey sharks emerge

They show in great detail how close to the beach the school of around 50 starry smoothounds came when they invaded RSPB Medmerry nature reserve on Wednesday, July 15.

The pictures were taken by staff member Andrew House and one of his shots even shows one of the sharks out of the water as they came to feed on crabs in the shallows.

Medmerry staff were ‘astonished’ by the event, and the sighting has captured the imagination of people all over the country and appeared on the front page of national newspapers today, Friday, July 17.

Many people have voiced their concern that sharks swim in the same shallow waters as bathers, but Adrian Thomas from Medmerry said people shouldn’t worry.

“Smoothounds are also known as gummy sharks, they don’t have razor sharp teeth like great whites or others you see on TV,” he said.

“Instead their teeth are flattened plates which they use to crunch up crabs along the bottom of the seabed.”

Watch footage of the shark invasion here: http://www.chichester.co.uk/news/local/video-watch-amazing-footage-of-sharks-swarming-in-selsey-waters-1-6853578