Brit vacationer, 66, survives horror bull shark assault by punching it within the face
A fearless 66-year-old British tourist has revealed how he fought off a terrifying shark attack by meeting the apex predator head on punching the beast
Peter, 66, and his wife Joanna, 62(Image: Facebook)
A Brit tourist who fought off a shark attack by punching the apex predator in the face has pulled back the lid on surviving the horrifying life threating experience.
Peter Smith, from Hertfordshire, was attacked by a massive bull shark while out for a swim during a holiday in Tobago. In a chaotic fight for survival Peter, 66, revealed he punched the shark as hard as possible while fighting off the furious beast.
The retired IT director recounted the day of the attack and said: “The conditions were perfect for a swim. I dived into the waves, swam out no more than 20 feet (6m), and stood waist-deep in the water.”
Peter explained after he felt a heavy object hit into his leg he looked down to see the massive bull shark. He said: “Suddenly I felt a very heavy object hit my leg. I look down and there’s a shark – and it’s big. You’re talking maybe 10 foot (3m). That’s when your brain works at 1,000 miles an hour.”
The 66-year old explained he hadn’t hit anything as hard as he hit the predator after realising the shark was so close to him. “I start punching the shark. To be honest I don’t know what I was trying to do, but I was hitting it,” he said.
Peter added: “I can honestly say I’ve never hit anything as hard as I hit that shark. After hitting my leg, it managed to attack my left arm and then my stomach. The situation got serious really fast. I lost a lot of blood.”
Peter’s wife Joanna, 64, a retired NHS worker, recounted the terrifying experience as she worried her husband wouldn’t make it out of the ambulance alive. Joanna said: “I remember going into the water and seeing his terrible injuries. I could see bones, it was just awful.”
Joanna added: “He was so pale, it was really scary. I remember going into the water and seeing his terrible injuries. I could see bones, it was just awful.”
Despite the terrifying ordeal – which occurred in April 2024 – Peter has affirmed he’s not scared of sharks despite the nail-biting attack. The horrific attack left Peter with nerve issues in his arm resulting in Peter having no feeling in his fingers and difficulty gripping with his left hand.
Peter has thanked the doctors who treated him and made his recovery possible. The 66-year-old said: ”I’m really grateful. At least I have mobility issues. At least I have limbs.” He added: “At one stage it looked like I wasn’t going to have any.”
