Shark scare at Roussillon beach

THE RED flag was raised at a popular beach near Perpignan at the weekend after lifeguards spotted what appeared to be a shark just a few metres from the shore.

It was the third time in 10 days that the alarm has been raised at the Plage du Bocal du Tech, between Saint-Cyprien and Argelès-sur-Mer in the Pyrénées-Orientales, near the Franco-Spanish border.

Lifeguards told bathers to stay out of the water while they took to their jet-skis to try to shoo the animal further out to shore.

One witness told local radio station France Bleu Roussillon: "At first I thought it was a swimmer doing the backstroke, then I saw the churn in the water, and fish jumping out of the sea."

A lifeguard added: "We saw a fin and something grey in the water. It was between 1m50 and two metres long. I jumped on the jet-ski to try to scare it off."

No bathers were in the water at the time, and the sighting attracted an audience from the safety of the beach.