Great white shark discovered close to Sydney’s Bondi beach

The animal was already dead in the shark net when it was recovered

The shark has now been taken away to be examined for research purposes

A great white shark has been found close to the shores of Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

Measuring 2.5m (8ft) long, the creature was already dead when it was discovered in the shark net this morning by contract workers from The Department of Primary Industry.

Around 50 surfers were in the water when the workers spotted the carcass.

"I'm surprised it's a great white and it's quite large, but we do have sharks that periodically swim past all our beaches, very few of them come in," the mayor of Waverley Council, Sally Betts told ABC news.

"As soon as they go past the nets they get this sonar sensitivity and they normally panic a bit and turn around," she added.

Shark nets or meshes are common to Australian beaches and are used to deter the animals from swimmers but do not act as a barrier.

The nets on Bondi beach have been in place since 1937 but do not cover the entire stretch of the beach.

According to The Department of Primary Industry, the nets are checked every 72 hours to make sure any trapped marine life is freed.

Adult great whites average lengths of up to 4.6m and are listed as a vulnerable species.

The dead shark has now been taken away to be examined for research purposes.