Surfer Fends Off Shark With Punches To Head

A surfer in Hawaii has survived being attacked by a shark after grabbing its fin and repeatedly punching the fish in the head.

Jeff Horton, 25, was surfing near Kilauea when a fin was spotted in the water.

Twenty minutes later, he was sitting on his surfboard with his legs dangling in the water when he spotted a dark shape approaching.

Initially he thought it was a stingray, but was forced to quickly pull his legs out of the water as the tiger shark bit into his surfboard.

The impact knocked Mr Horton off his board and on top of the shark.

Holding on to the shark with one hand, he repeatedly punched it as hard as he could.

He said: "I finally got one nice punch into the eye. I put some really good hits on it, for sure."

It was only after his knuckle jammed into the shark's eye that it spat out his surfboard and swam away.

Mr Horton was able to scramble back on to his board and, along with another surfer, paddled to the shore as the shark briefly followed behind them.

His 7ft board, which has a teeth imprint, will now be put up on his wall.
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]