British diver swims for miles after being 'chased' by huge tiger shark

A British diver swam 7.5km (4.5 miles) to safety — after being chased by a shark off the coast of Western Australia.

John Craig, 34, had been spear-fishing off when he resurfaced and realised he could not see his boat.

Already tasked with the huge task of swimming back to land, Craig, an experienced diver who moved to Australia two years ago, realised he had company.

“At this point I thought I was gone — 4 nautical miles out to sea with a huge tiger shark following me — I thought this was it, this is how I am going to die,” he said.

“I would look back and see its head come out of the gloom and at my fins, keeping pace with me.”

The diver, from Sunderland, said he believed it was a tiger shark about 4m in length.

“It was extremely close and curious and kept approaching me from different angles. It was trying to work out what I was and whether I could be on the menu,” he told the BBC.

“It was terrifying. I thought I was just going to be eaten out here in the middle of nowhere… this shark is just not leaving me alone.”

“I had been splashing and screaming for some time and my heart rate was sky high,” Craig told ABC. “After five minutes it was clear I was on my own. I put my head in the water to check I was in the same place and suddenly saw a huge four-metre tiger shark approaching within arm’s reach.”

At first, he put his stun gun between him and the shark — careful not to provoke it — but eventually gave up the “dance” and decided to try to make it to shore.

The shark eventually gave up and Mr Craig decided to head in the direction of cliffs barely visible on the horizon, swimming for three hours.

“By the time I got to the beach I was exhausted. I could barely stand, my legs were so sore from the 7.5km swim,” he said.

Then then saw rescue ships in the distance and began a gruelling 5km walk to meet them.

“I just thought about my wife Emma and how worried she’d be. I just wanted to tell her I was alive,” he told ABC.

After finally being spotted by the boats, Craig headed to the pub with his rescuers to celebrate.

On Facebook, Volunteer Marine Rescue Shark Bay wrote: “Rescue today missing diver great outcome located on the shore. He swam 15k. Amazing. I guess when a tiger is following you you would swim faster.”

“I could not believe that someone could swim that far in such a short period of time,” said Glen Ridgley, from the organisation.

“I guess where there’s a shark besides you spurring you on… it’s like a trainer.”

According statistics on attacking species of shark, tiger sharks are responsible for more attacks for all other types of shark, except one.