Great white sharks could soon be on their way to the British coast as the waters warm up due to climate change, experts have said.
The huge predators currently prowl the seas around British holiday hotspots in the Canaries and the Balerics, but they could soon be arriving closer to home.
A team of scientists on a Discovery Channel-backed expedition this summer are seeking to probe just how many of the predators there are in the Mediterranean Sea.
And experts say there have been at least 10 credible reports of the fearsome breed being spotted in the seas around the UK.
Cornwall has been suggested as a potential future hotspot for the sea creatures.
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Dr Bob Hueter, chief scientist at the sea research organisation OCEARCH, told The Sun: "It is very possible that white sharks already occasionally venture to the British Isles but are not observed or documented.
"With climate change increasing water temperature, this likelihood could increase.
"It is not likely to be soon that white sharks will become common residents of the British Isles, but occasional visits by this species venturing up from the Atlantic coast of France may start to increase."
In 2021 there have been 44 shark attacks around the globe, of which five have proved fatal.
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In the whole of 2020, there were 60 people bitten and nine deaths, which is the highest number recorded since 2011.
So far in 2021 there have been 44 shark attacks including five fatalities, while in 2020 there were 60 bites with nine deaths - the highest since 2011.
Dr Ken Collins, from the University of Southampton, based at the National Oceanography Centre and former administrator of the UK shark tagging programme, said: "It's likely we will be seeing more sharks spread from warmer regions such as the Mediterranean Sea towards our waters in the UK over the next 30 years.
"You get great whites off the coast of South Africa where the water is colder than here and I see no reason why we should not have them in our waters.
''I see no reason why they shouldn't be spotted here, particularly off the coast of Cornwall where there is an abundant supply of seals, their favourite food."
