Basking shark spotted swimming off Cornwall coast 

Residents in Looe, a small coastal town in Cornwall, were left stunned after a shark swam within metres of onlookers on Sunday. 

A basking shark was spotted in shallow waters surrounding the town harbour

Those who witnessed the jaw-dropping incident need not have worried however, as the menacing creature turned out to be a harmless basking shark.

The 3m (10ft) fish glided into the harbour in Looe by accident according to local lifeboat staff.

It spent an hour swimming in front of stunned onlookers before eventually finding its way back to the open sea.

Looe lifeboat operations manager Dave Haines said it was the first time in nearly 20 years a basking shark had been seen in the river.

'It's really unusual to see them there in the harbour. He went right in close to the people, I'd say he was around 8ft away,' he revealed.

'I saw one there 20 years ago, and we think that was the last sighting, so I couldn't believe it when I saw this one.

'It was great to see him, it's not the sort of thing you see all the time - I hope I don't have to wait another 20 years to see another one.'