Great white sharks 'are in UK waters' and hot weather 'could bring another 20ft sea beast'

Great white sharks 'are in UK waters' and hot weather 'could bring another 20ft sea beast' EXCLUSIVE: Great white sharks are probably already present in UK waters, one prominent expert has claimed - and rising sea temperatures are only likely to entice more big species to our shores One of the UK's top shark experts says great whites are already in UK waters, while rising temperatures could tempt another huge species to our shores. Marine biologist and TV presenter Tom 'The Blowfish' Hird reckons its only a matter of time before the apex predator is captured on camera in the UK. Contrary to popular belief, he says, the conditions in the sea around the UK are actually welcoming for great white sharks, and there are other reasons for there being no confirmed sighting. Our waters already have the second largest fish in the world - the basking shark - and rising sea temperatures may start to see more species of big sharks migrate to UK waters, including hammerheads, which can grow to a whopping 14ft in length. He told us: "As sea temperatures rise we may start to see sub tropical fish from the Mediterranean like rays or hammerheads. "We've already got great white sharks in UK waters. We've got to take into consideration that they're not lingering around. We're just not going to see them swimming through our seas, they move so quickly. "There's an awful lot of sea out there. They're not just sitting in one spot. It's not like everyone at the beach will see them. We don't have loads of people in our waters and it's very seasonal." Depending on the species, hammerhead sharks can grow up to 20ft long. Thankfully, they're not aggressive by nature and attacks are extremely rare. British seas have temperate water and lots of seals, the primary food source for the great white, meanwhile. Over the years, renowned expert Richard Peirce, author of Sharks in British Seas, investigated nearly 100 claims from people who think they spotted great whites in British waters. Of those, he believes 12 are credible sightings, although as some are duplicates, the number drops to seven. They took place in Cornwall, Devon and the Scottish Outer Hebrides. Richard thinks the mystery isn't that great whites are here, but instead it's why we don't see more of them, reports BBC Wildlife Magazine. Tom thinks it's only a matter of time before "we get a great white shark sighting on camera". He said: "There's no physical or biological barrier (to them coming to the UK). There's so much going on, the English Channel is the busiest shipping lane in the world, there are strong tides. "They'll migrate to areas which have a lot of seal activity, they'll often be in areas where we as humans wouldn't see them. "It's up to them how close to the shore they swim to, they're a very adaptable species. They'll cruise the shore at dawn and dusk and go on scavenger runs. "They have the ability to regulate their body temperature. Our waters would be perfectly fine for them. We don't appreciate how small as an island we really are. There have been great whites tagged in South Africa that have ended up in Australia, a great white could swim around the UK's coast in a couple of days."