BEACHGOERS in mid Wales were left shocked over the weekend following two spottings of a juvenile shark close to the shoreline in Aberystwyth and Aberdyfi.

The first spotting occurred on Friday afternoon on Aberystwyth's north beach, near the wooden jetty, when several onlookers spotted the shark, believed to be a porbeagle, close to the shoreline.

The second spotting was caught on camera in Aberdyfi on Sunday, near the Penhelig Arms.

Experts are however advising people not to try and help if they spot a shark to avoid being bitten of injured.

Aberystwyth Coastguard were called to Aberystwyth's north beach on Friday at around 5.30pm.

They said in a social media post: "HM Coastguard Aberystwyth were tasked at the request of MRCC Milford Haven to assist the British Divers Marine Life Rescue with a two metre long juvenile Porbeagle shark swimming in the area between the pier and the bandstand that was thought to be ill/injured and in danger of beaching itself.

"The CRT were tasked to provide safety cover for BDMLR and also to provide a bit of crowd control to ensure no members of the public put themselves in harms way, or inadvertently caused the shark further distress.

"After low tide and no further sightings, “mini jaws” had seemingly made it out of the bay and so the CRT were stood down."

Porbeagle sharks can grow up to 11ft (3.5m) long and are regular visitors to the UK coast, although are usually found in deeper water.

"Porbeagles are not naturally aggressive towards humans, though there are reports of people being bitten when trying to help them back to sea," said BDMLR

Porbeagles hunt a variety of smaller fish including mackerel, whiting and herring, as well as octopus, squid and cuttlefish, travelling great distances.