A Schoolboy who survived a terrifying shark attack has told how he managed to escape after the predator sunk its teeth into him.

Shane McConnell, 12, from Balerno, near Edinburgh, was on holiday in the Bahamas when he accidentally fell into the water and the bull shark began circling him.

The Balerno High School pupil managed to pull himself back up on to the marina and initially thought he had escaped unscathed – but his body was in shock and he later realised the shark had tore deep gouges in his feet.

Shane received 53 stitches and 20 painkilling injections after the attack and doctors who treated him said he could have lost his feet or bled to death had he not been wearing swimming shoes at the time.

 

Despite his ordeal, the young Scot is still fascinated by sharks and hopes to become a marine marine biologist.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Shane, who was holiday with his parents Debbie and Jim and his two brothers, told how he was walking along the marina in the island of Bimini on April 5 when he tripped on a metal cleat and fell into the sea.

He said: “I was scared because I knew sharks were around, I had seen the shadow of one earlier that day.

“I knew I had to get to the ladder and when I was swimming back I saw half of a shark’s body come out of the water. I saw its tail and fin – it was big and grey.

“I think it thought I was food being thrown in. I shouted for help when I saw it but then it disappeared under me. I felt it brush my hand – I thought it had missed me.”

As Shane struggled to reach the ladder, he didn’t realise the shark had circled underneath him and bitten both his feet.

“All the security men on the docks were suddenly surrounding me,” he said. “The shark had got me but I didn’t know until then.

“Three security men laid me down and wrapped white towels tightly around my feet. I wasn’t in pain, I couldn’t feel anything, but my legs were shaking a lot.”

The young boy’s swimming shoes were shredded with large teeth marks, his tendons were visible and his feet were covered in blood.

It was at this point that his father realised something was going on.

Mr McConnell, 56, said: “I heard a commotion and saw someone on the ground.

“I recognised Shane’s T-shirt and shorts. I saw his feet and the large puncture wounds and lacerations, and saw the blood, and realised it was serious.”

Mrs McConnell, 48, was at their hotel pool when she was told of the shark attack by strangers and headed to the marina.

She said: “I saw Shane’s blonde hair and his cap. My legs turned to jelly. I started shaking and crying and I ran over to him.

“I held his hand and Shane kept saying he was alright. I just keep thinking what could have happened. He could have lost his feet or legs, or been killed.”

Shane was taken away on a makeshift stretcher to a local surgery where he received treatment including 20 shots of novocaine.

Speaking from his home in Balerno, he said: “The most painful thing was the injections.

“But I still want to be a marine biologist – and the best thing is I’ll have a cool scar to show people.”