A dad who sent up a camera drone to snap his young children playing in the sea was horrified to see a shark swimming towards them.
Dan Watson told how he and wife Sally screamed to their youngsters to get out of the water immediately after spotting the creature’s distinctive shape.
The professional photographer said: “As soon as I got the drone in the air I saw a shadow moving through the water towards them.
“It was too close an encounter for my liking.”
Sally said: “I was like, ‘Get out, get out!’ It was terrifying. He showed me the frame on the drone. You see that shark swimming right at our kids.”
Dan, who had taken his family on the day out near their Florida home, said of the drone:
“It’s now coming with me to every
beach day.”
Florida, visited by up to a million Brits each year, has a high proportion of shark attacks.
Half of the 32 incidents in the US last year were there. It has had 827 unprovoked attacks since 1882, says the International Shark Attack File.
Last month Australian drone footage showed surfers in the water, unaware they were just feet from a Great White shark.
The 7.5ft creature could be seen below the waves at Tuncurry Beach in Forster, New South Wales, within striking distance of the five as they waited for a wave.
Posting the footage online, the drone operator said the surfers did not notice his efforts to warn them – but that none were injured.
