Australian Man Survives Shark Attack

Surfer Paul Welsh was in one meter deep water near Mona Vale Beach when he was attacked by a small shark.

[Paul Welsh, Shark Attack Victim]:
"I knew it was a shark straight away…cause nothing quite grabs you like that, it was just the force of the hit, it was unbelievable."

Welsh was surfing with his son when the shark attacked.

A witness said Welsh managed to hold on to nearby rocks as the shark was trying to pull him in the water.

[Paul Welsh, Shark Attack Victim]:
"I just got hit and it was trying to pull me back in the water…Just the clamping effect, yeah it had a good hold, it would have pulled me underneath for sure."

Paul's son Saxon Welsh thought the attacker was a stingray.

[Saxon Welsh, Victims Son]:
"All I saw was its mouth wide opened, it was about that big."

Welsh's wife saw the attack and took her husband to hospital for treatment.

A tooth stuck in Welsh's leg was found to have come from the usually harmless Wobbegong shark.