"Brave" shark attack victim swam 100 metres with only one arm

A surfer who lost both hands in a shark attack in Western Australia swam 100 metres to shore with using just one arm.

Sean Pollard, 23, was surfing at Wylie Bay when the predator, believed to be a great white shark, attacked him on Thursday morning.

Witness Robbie, who was planning to give his nephew a surfing lesson at the beach, told 6PR radio: "He's obviously swum about 100m with those injuries ... it was probably the bravest thing I've ever seen."

Two men pulled him out of the water and an off-duty paramedic at the beach helped stem the bleeding. Robbie added that Mr Pollard may have died if the paramedic hadn't come to his aid.

"He was really unlucky but he was really lucky to have had the help he had when he got to the beach by those three people - the two guys that pulled him out and then helped dress his wounds, and the paramedic on the beach, you couldn't give her enough props really," he said.

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Esperance Police Senior Sergeant Richard Moore told Perth Now that the assistance of the volunteer in the crucial first few minutes after the attack was "vital" to Mr Pollard's survival.

According to the Huffington Post, Esperance Shire President Malcolm Heasman said the victim lost one arm below the elbow and the other at the wrist, likely from trying to fend off the shark.

He also had lacerations to his legs but was in a stable condition when he was flown to a hospital in Perth for treatment.

Heasman added that when police retrieved his surf board it was covered in bite marks.

Beaches in the area were closed following the attack and officials caught and killed two great white sharks.

But Sky News reports that Humane Society International urged the government of Western Australia to close beaches and use warning signs instead of killing sharks.

It said: "Simply killing sharks will not reduce the risk of a shark attack."

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