A FORMER Worcester schoolboy who survived a “scary” shark attack in Australia has spoken about his experience.

Duncan Meikle, 26, who attended King’s School, Worcester, was surfing with three friends at Avoca beach, north of near Sydney, when a shark leapt from the water and bit his friend Charlie Fry.

Mr Fry, aged 25, retaliated by punching the shark.

He then called out to Mr Meikle and his friends that he had seen a shark, but the warning was not taken seriously at first.

Mr Meikle, originally from Evesham but now living in Australia, said: “A couple of weeks ago, four of us were out surfing.

"Two of us were further out having a rest when we saw our mate closer to shore suddenly start paddling really fast and shouting that there was a shark.

“We just presumed that he was joking but, after a few seconds we thought, ‘what would he say if he wasn’t joking’ so started paddling in.

"He had been pushed off his board by the first hit and then the shark came back to him and he had given it a hit.

“He managed to get back on his board and catch a wave in. We didn’t realise what had happened as we didn’t see it.

“A small group of people gathered on the shore and started getting more and more animated - waving us in.

“I just figured they must have seen a shark.

"I had no idea that he’d actually been bitten. I was the last one in the water as the other bloke swam faster.

"In the end it was really scary thinking there was a shark around me as I was splashing.

"I didn’t actually see it, so it was only really scary as I was trying to get back into shore.”

Mr Fry had previously told 9News, the Australian national news service: “I saw a shark’s head come out of the water, with its teeth, and I just punched it in the face.

“I then got back on my board, shouted at my friends who were there and then managed to catch a wave in.

"I didn’t feel the teeth going in, it felt like I was smacked, it felt like a hand, a hand grabbing me, shaking me.

"It was just pure adrenaline, I genuinely thought I was going to die, like ‘you’re about to be eaten alive by a shark’”