If you were planning on making the most of the sunshine by heading to Goring-by-Sea for the weekend, according to the locals, you shouldn't bother getting your cozzies on - because there is apparently a shark on the loose.
Residents in the seaside town in West Sussex, which is beloved by Brit tourists, have been scared away from the water following the news that a Great White shark was supposedly spotted off the UK coast last weekend.
Mum Emily Rushton explained that she was walking her dog Woody with her husband Dan, 41, and their young son on their usual route along the beach when they spotted something sinister on the horizon.
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The 42-year-old explained that they had noticed a 'fin' bobbing in and out between the waves before she quickly fumbled for her mobile phone to film it, which is when the family came to the conclusion that it was 'definitely a shark'.
The couple claimed they could clearly see the animal's 'body shape' beneath the surface when they took a closer look.
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Emily managed to record footage of the supposed Great White shark as it appeared to stalk the waters close to the shore while following it down the coast for more than half an hour with her son and husband.
This came much to the 'excitement' of her four-year-old son Hugo, who was amazed that what may have been one of the world's most fearsome predator's had turned up during their family dog walk.
Emily explained: "We're on the beach every day with our dog walking him. We usually don't spot anything but we were looking out and it's completely unusual to see something so we were like, 'What is that?'
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"At first it just looked like something black and something triangular in the water. That's what made it stand out, really. We could see it moving and said 'that looks like a fin'."
Emily, from Worthing, said that the mysterious creature appeared to be lurking near the buoys in the sea.
She continued: "It wasn't very far off. As we kept looking, it would go under the water then come back up again and move along. When it would swim along for a bit we could see it was definitely triangular in shape.
"We thought 'oh my goodness', that is definitely a fin.
"As it got slightly towards the shallower parts, where it was a bit clearer, you could see a body shape underneath it."
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"It was a lot clearer just looking at it yourself than in the video but with the phones we could see and were like 'Yeah, that's definitely a shark'," Emily added.
The mum-of-one shared the news of her alleged encounter with a Great White shark online to see what other people thought and ended up in touch with someone who had a similar experience in 2022.
Self-proclaimed shark expert Graeme Pullen said that he had spotted a fin above the waves of the same waters two years ago, which he also suspected belonged to a Great White that was 'feeding on seals and bass'.
He alleged that the fin belonged to an 'undisputed shark' which may be 'living permanently' in the protected area along the West Sussex coastline as commercial shipping is banned there.
This could potentially provide an explanation for Emily's sighting, which she described as an 'abnormal' addition to her daily dog walk.
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Although it was 'exciting', the mum says it has scuppered her family's plans for numerous beach days throughout the summer - and locals are apparently in firm agreement too.
She explained it's typically a 'really busy coastline' with kite surfers, paddle boarders and swimmers, but she doubts there will be people rushing to run into the sea for a dip this year now as locals are too scared.
Emily said she won't be getting her brood's paddle boards out amid the supposed Great White shark sighting until she knows it's gone elsewhere.
After sharing the image online, some speculated that the 'black, triangular shape' could be a seal's nose - although others were firmly in agreement with the family.
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and MediaTopics: UK News, News, Sharks, Animals