Jaw-dropping clip shows massive 11ft shark circling waters around packed Bournemouth beach

A MASSIVE shark was filmed floating about the waters of Bournemouth as beachgoers basked in the sunshine metres away.

Surfer Christian Pepin spotted the sea beast from the safety of the pier and caught footage of the predator lurking in the shallows.

Christian posted the video to the Surfers of Bournemouth Pier Facebook group, attracting much fanfare with it being shared over a thousand times.

The video shows the shadow of the shark with its long tail flapping around as waves crash over it.

The beach is packed with people, with swimmers seen paddling nearby completely unaware of the scary creature in their vicinity.

Video viewers quickly speculated on what species of shark it might've been.

Philip Locke said: "Looks like a small tope shark they are always found along sand banks on shorelines, harmless (but) would still give you a bit of shock."

Also known as the school shark, the tope often swims close to shore around the UK’s coasts.

Despite its frightening appearance there is nothing to fear - there has been no recorded attack on humans.

The creature is the one in danger - it's often targeted for its oil, flesh and fin.

They can grow up to 6ft long and live for half-a-century, but they're classed as critically endangered.

Multiple other Facebook users seemed convinced it was instead a thresher shark.

Megan Kenway-Head said: "My guess would be the common thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus), due to the long whip-like tail, the black tip on the nose as well as shape of the head, and the large fins."

The thresher is a species that migrates, passing through the UK in the summer months.