Surfer fights off great white shark after it ‘bit his leg off’

A man has reportedly lost a leg after being bitten by a great white shark that he wrestled for thirty seconds before swimming back to shore.

The 44-year-old was surfing at Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie, New South Wales, at around 10am on Friday morning when he was bitten on his lower body and both legs.

Local police said the man, named as Toby Begg, fought off the shark for about 30 seconds before swimming back to the shore. It was at this point he realised that he had suffered serious injuries to both his legs.

He was airlifted to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle where he remains in a critical condition, with 7 News reporting that the father of two has lost one of his legs.

The beach remained closed on Friday evening and was likely to remain shut for 24 hours.

“The reports are the man has tried to fight this shark for up to 30 seconds and has then swum himself to shore where he has realised he has sustained significant lower leg injuries,” New South Wales police chief inspector Martin Burke told radio station 2GB.

Photographs show the bottom of a blue and white surfboard ripped off, with bite marks on the side.

Given the size of the bite marks on the board the shark was believed to have been about 3.8 metres to 4.2 metres, police said.

Mr Begg had been surfing about 150m off the coast with a group of six others when he was bitten.

Bystanders, including an off-duty emergency doctor, applied a tourniquet to his legs and performed first aid until paramedics arrived.

Port Macquarie ALS Lifeguards sent Mr Begg its best wishes. “We hope and pray for a good outcome for the victim involved,” it said.

Lighthouse Beach has two SMART drumlines (Shark-Management-Alert-In-Real-Time), which are used to monitor shark activity.

Some 10 sharks were detected at the beach between July 2021 and June 2022, including two other male white sharks.