Huge great white shark pictured swimming next to surfers

Great white shark pictured right next to surfers in Australia

A terrifying picture of a large great white shark swimming right next to surfers in Australia has emerged online.

The picture was taken by drone pilot Tom Caska on the Central Coast at Killcare on 17 September.

It shows the rather enormous animal following what is believed to be a school of salmon 50 metres off-shore, and getting very close to Tom's brother in the meantime.

Post by Tom Caska.

According to The Herald, the surfers were on three-metre-long boards, which gives an indication of the shark's size.

Tom uploaded the picture to Facebook and wrote: "A very large shark in close proximity to my brother late this arvo at Killcare. Don't fall off ! Andie had a heart attack when he saw this. Possibly a tiger or white. Very large either way. Scary stuff!!!"

He added: "My brother's 6ft 2in, the board he is on is 9ft 6in - it's a big big shark!!"

There was discussion online about what kind of shark it is, but most people were in agreement that it's a great white. One user, Linda Rodriguez, wrote: "It's not a tiger or bull or bronze whaler shark because they have a more rounded snout. Plus it doesn't have the markings of a tiger. It is distinctively a great white given its colour, sheer size and the thickness in the tail. Too close to shore to be a mako."

Just last week, British ex-pat Paul Wilcox was killed by a great white shark while swimming at Byron Bay in Australia.