RESIDENTS were surprised as a shark was spotted navigating the waters of the River Stour.

The smooth-hound shark was spotted in the river near Manningtree by intrigued onlookers.

The Essex Wildlife Trust said smooth-hound sharks like shallow water as the creature swam close to a section of the beach on July 2.

A spokesperson for the Essex Wildlife Trust said: “Although identification can be hard from videos, it seems likely that this is a smooth-hound shark.

“They are fairly slender, with a short head and snout, and a speckled back. These sharks enjoy shallow, shingled areas and will be on the lookout for their favourite food source: crustaceans.

“They are adapted with blunt teeth for crushing crab shells.”

Smooth-hounds are widely distributed around the UK and are common along the Essex coast, however it is not common for the public to spot them.

The Essex Wildlife Trust provided advice for people who encounter a shark and do not know what to do.

The spokesperson added: “Our advice for people seeing sharks on local coastlines – if you feel concerned that the animal is stuck and is behaving unusually/looks distressed then please contact an animal rescue charity or call 101 and ask for the wildlife police.

“In this instance, it seems like a wonderfully lucky encounter with a beautiful species.

"Just give wildlife the space they need, don’t touch them and admire them from a distance."