An Australian teenager is recovering in hospital after surviving an attack by a great white shark.
Cooper Allen was surfing with a friend off Lighthouse Beach, New South Wales, when he was attacked by the 3.5-metre-long fish.
However, the 17-year-old was able to escape, helped to shore by his friend.
Local surfer Dan Webber witnessed the incident, and said the shark was a “massive f****** thing”.
“He’s just swimming backwards away from it,” Mr Webber told The Australian.
“I think it was tangled up in his legrope. I saw the dorsal and the tail fin thrashing around.”
When Cooper reached the shoreline, beach-goers administered first aid, including a rudimentary tourniquet. The teenager asked them to call an ambulance but not his mother.
Despite losing blood through four deep gashes to his right leg, he did not require surgery and only needed stitches.
The attack led to the beach and others in the area being closed by authorities for fear of other attacks.
Soon after the attack, a local government monitor observed a shark in the area which matched the description of the one which bit Cooper.
A statement from Surf Life Saving NSW said: "Surf lifesaving assets were on the water from 8am conducting a roving patrol along the coastline as part of the comprehensive process of reopening local beaches.
"After a meeting involving the NSW Department of Primary Industries, local council representatives, NSW Police and lifeguards, the decision was made to reopen the beaches with the exception of Lennox Head."
Cooper is reportedly in good spirits in hospital and recovering well.
