VIDEO: Shark spotted in shallow water at Minnie Water

'I grew up in Grafton but live in London now, back for the holidays so it's something to show my UK friends who already think Australia is mental.'

ON A holiday home from London, the last thing Mitch Johnstone expected to see when he went for a swim at Minnie Water back beach was a 2m shark swimming in the shallow water.

Mr Johnstone encountered the shark in shallow water around 10am this morning, and couldn't believe his eyes.

"I just went for a walk from Minnie main beach around the headland and over to back beach and someone started yelling at their dog that was by the water edge just as I was getting ready to go for a swim," he said.

"I turned around and saw the shark a few meters out in the water. There were a few surfers out there but it wasn't interested in anyone in the water. It kept going into the rocks and thrashing around so it may have been trying to dislodge a hook or something."

A shark, approximately 2m in length, was spotted in shallow water at Minnie Water back beach on the morning of January 10, 2019. Picture: Contributed

Mr Johnstone said he thought it was strange to see the shark in such shallow water.

"It wasn't chasing fish or anything, it kept going into very shallow water and nearly got beached a couple of times," he said.

"It looked to be about 2m in size. I watched it for about 20 minutes, then went for a swim back at main beach where there wasn't a shark!"

While he was shocked to come up close and personal with the shark, he said it gave him something to talk about when he returned to England.

"I grew up in Grafton but live in London now, back for the holidays so it's something to show my UK friends who already think Australia is mental," he said.

A shark, approximately 2m in length, was spotted in shallow water at Minnie Water back beach on the morning of January 10, 2019. Picture: Contributed

Originally published as VIDEO: Shark spotted in shallow water at Minnie Water