Sharks have been spotted at dozens of British beaches over the last five years, with a handful launching attacks on swimmers. Over 40 shark sightings were recorded by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency at beaches on the South Coast, Wales and the Highlands, Metro can reveal. Mammoth twelve metre long basking sharks and endangered blue sharks are among the finned fish lurking British shores. Of the dozens of sharks seen swimming in UK beaches, three mimicked the hit film Jaws and preyed upon innocent beachgoers.

One shark mauling in Portrush, County Antrim in Northern Ireland led to a severe thumb and other minor injuries in June 2023. A year earlier, a shark bit a swimmer in Penzance, Cornwall. The most common shark seen on Britain’s coast also happens to be the most terrifying. The basking shark, seen at least eight times times since 2020, is 12m long, up to six tonnes in weight and known for its gaping ‘cavernous mouth’.

The Wildlife Trust advises beachgoers never to touch basking sharks and stay four metres away from them at all times. Another predatory shark recorded by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is the tiger shark, which is ‘famous for eating just about anything they find’, according to ocean conservation group Oceana. Tiger sharks are typically thought to inhabit in the Caribbean seas and Pacific islands, but they are clearly lurking off the UK, as one deceased tiger shark washed up on Mumbles beach in West Glamorgan, South Wales, in August 2023.

The most recent shark encounter on record was in the seaside town of Frinton-on-Sea in Essex. The exclusive and quiet sandy beach was the home of a tope shark in at the end of November 2024. Reassuringly, there have never been any recorded instances of tope sharks attacking humans. Tourists looking to visit the UK’s most popular holiday beaches will also have to stay vigilant of sharks, as they scared off beachgoers in Brighton, Blackpool and Liverpool.

Two sharks over 3m in length were spotted in April 2022, while one deceased juvenile shark washed up on Blackpool’s shores early last year. Dead sharks were behind 12 of the shark sightings since 2020, with those sharks often being taken by zoologists to be studied for research purposes. These figures could only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to beach shark encounters, as there are over 40 shark species in UK waters, according to Shark Trust.

Some breeds, such as blue sharks, travel over 5,700 miles (9,200km) in a single trip to the British coast. Oxwich Bay – 2 deceased sharks in 2020. Chillerton Beach, Isle of Wight – 1 deceased shark in 2020. Lowestoft – 1 injured juvenile shark in 2020. Filey Beach – 1 deceased basking shark in 2020. South Coast – 1 presumed deceased shark in 2020. West Wittering Beach, Sussex – 1 deceased shark (1.5ft long) in 2020.

Saunton Sands, North Devon – 1 blue shark in 2020. South Coast – A shark attacked a beachgoer in 2020. Redcar, Yorkshire – 1 deceased shark in 2020. Bridlington – 1 shark (1.5ft long) in 2020. Porthcurnick Beach – 2 basking sharks in 2021. Eochar, South Uist – 1 shark in 2021. Aberdyfi Beach – 1 large shark with a dark fin in 2021. Ryde, Isle of Wight – 1 grey shark (1.5-2m long) in 2021. SW Coast – 1 shark in 2021.

Tudweiliog, Gwynedd – 1 large white shark with a black spot on its dorsal fin in 2021. Bexhill-On-Sea – 1 shark in 2021. Weymouth – 2 sharks (1 juvenile, 3ft; 1 adult) in 2021. Sandy Cove, Newlyn, Cornwall – 1 possible basking shark in 2022. Brighton – 2 sharks (3-4m long) in 2022. Bay Bach, Burry Port, Carmarthenshire – 1 deceased shark in 2022. Holywell, Eastbourne, Sussex – 1 large ray or shark in 2022.

Rossal Beach, Cleveleys, Lancashire – 1 deceased juvenile shark in 2022. Penzance, Cornwall – 1 shark, which bit a beachgoer on the thigh in 2022. Ingoldmells – 2 deceased sharks in 2022. Mumbles – 1 shark in 2022. Huttoft Beach – 1 possible juvenile shark in 2023. Lepe Beach – 1 shark (2-3m long) in 2023. Skerries, Portrush, County Antrim – 1 shark, which attacked a beachgoer in 2023, leaving them with a severe thumb injury.

Fleetwood, Lancashire – 1 shark in 2023. Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire – 1 deceased shark (3ft long) in 2023. Port of Ness – 1 basking shark in 2023. Mumbles Beach, West Glamorgan – 1 deceased tiger shark in 2023. St Monans, Anstruther, Fife – 1 basking shark in 2023. Ardneil Bay – 1 deceased basking shark in 2023. New Brighton Beach (Liverpool) – 1 basking shark in 2024. Seaton, Devon – 1 shark in 2024.

Hive Beach – 1 shark or dolphin in 2024. Blackpool, Lancashire – 1 deceased juvenile shark with black spots in 2024. Southbourne Beach – 1 shark in 2024. Kyle of Lochalsh – 1 shark in 2024. Woolhouse Rocks, Tenby, Dyfed – 1 shark (12-13ft) in 2024. Frinton Beach – 1 tope shark in 2024. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.