Man hooks 'biggest thresher shark ever' caught off Wales

Craig Deans (left) joins David Thomas (holding dorsal fin) and friends with the 19 stone shark

A fisherman has caught a 19 stone (120kg) thresher shark - thought to the biggest ever pulled from Welsh waters.

David Thomas, 40, from Bridgend county, took five hours to reel in the 12ft (3.65m) fish in waters off Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, on Sunday.

The building worker and five friends pulled it on-board a sharking boat run by Cardiff-based Phatcat Charters, before later releasing the shark.

"I was really tired by the end of it - but it was all worth it," he said.

David Thomas (right) with the the 12ft thresher shark

The shark was hooked with mackerel bait and fought for five hours before eventually being hoisted from the water.

Phatcat owner and skipper Craig Deans said the "once in a lifetime catch" is the largest thresher shark caught off Wales.

Thresher sharks are found in temperate and tropical waters. While they are not common to British waters, they have been spotted close to the UK in the summer.