Angler in kayak hooks 6ft shark

A man sea-fishing from a kayak was left wishing he had a bigger boat when he was dragged for half a mile after hooking a 6ft shark.

Rupert Kirkwood, 51, was fishing from the tiny craft a mile off the Devon coast in the Bristol Channel when he hooked a 65lb (29.5kg) tope shark. The species is harmless but that did not stop the fish turning tail and making off with Mr Kirkwood, a conservationist and vet, in tow.

He had been fishing off Ilfracombe in poor weather for four hours without a bite when he felt a "great tug" on the line, which was baited with mackerel.

"These creatures are known to do a run and it was just like Jaws – the line flew off the reel for what seemed like about 10 seconds," he told the Western Morning News. Mr Kirkwood, from Holsworthy, Devon, eventually reeled in the shark, carefully lifting it out of the water by its pectoral fin and tail, before releasing it unharmed.