Shark spotted swimming near tourist ship

The operator of a replica pirate ship has spoken of his surprise after spotting a shark in the water off the coast of Scarborough.

Peter Williams caught the porbeagle shark on camera swimming close to the Hispaniola Pirate Ship as it left the harbour on Tuesday.

Porbeagle sharks are regular visitors to the UK coast and can grow up to 11ft (3.5m) long. According to the Wildlife Trusts, they are one of the closest living relatives of the great white shark and are regularly mistaken for their infamous cousins.

Mr Williams, a former fisherman, said while the number of shark and dolphin sightings were on the rise it was rare to see one so close to the ship, adding: "You'd never have seen them 20 years ago."

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.