It's the first recorded attack of its kind in 175 years
A swimmer has been bitten by a shark while snorkelling off the coast of Britain.
The victim sustained a leg injury when they were attacked in a rare case off the Cornish coast near Penzance.
The incident took place late last week and is potentially the first unprovoked shark attack in British waters since 1847.
In 2017 surfer Rich Thomson was apparently bitten on the thumb by a smooth hound - a relative of sharks.
Several species of shark visit the waters off Cornwall every year, including blue sharks, porbeagle sharks and basking sharks.
None of these species are considered dangerous, though there have been a total of four fatal blue shark attacks worldwide since records began.
The last recorded unprovoked 'attack' was at Felixtowe when a windsurfer's board was bitten by a shark in 2016.
Despite this, the windsufer sustained no injures and shark bites tend to only happen when provoked during fishing or other activities.
A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said: "HM Coastguard sent Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team to meet a snorkeler who suffered a suspected shark bite.
"The coastguard was notified just before 12.30pm on Thursday. It is believed the swimmer suffered a leg injury.
“The coastguard team met the casualty at Penzance harbour to assist with passing them into the care of the ambulance service."
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