Australian surfer describes shark bite incident

An Australian surfer has given details of the moment she was bitten by a shark at South Golden Beach in New South Wales, according to reports.

Jodie Cooper, who was formally a professional surfer, was bitten on the hand and into her knuckles before managing to escape the shark and warn other nearby surfers of the menace.

According to the BBC, Ms Cooper told the Australian Associated Press: "It just came up from underneath me and just bit me, just like in the movies.

"It's pretty classic, except lucky it was a small shark, a little five-foot thing. I didn't even see the thing the whole time, it just gave me a good old chomp on the hand and took a couple of knuckles."

But Ms Cooper was quick to insist she would be surfing again when her hand was better.

Australian beaches provide protection measures for people enjoying the sea and fatal shark attacks are extremely rare.