Diver explains how he freed himself of great white shark

Bernard Williams, 46, played hide and seek with the 11ft shark, sheltering in rock crevices and trying to evade his attacker while blinded by clouds of his own blood in the water.

The father of three was diving for crayfish about three miles off a beach near Perth when he was attacked on Sunday.

The great white attacked him from behind, biting his left arm. It was prevented from doing further damage when Mr Williams poked it in the nose with his spear gun - an experience he likened to "jabbing a lump of steel".

"I just felt like I'd been hit by a truck on the side. . . and there was a very large shark head hanging off my arm, trying to chew it.

"I was dragged along and shook up a little bit and that's when it punctured my arm. It was a lot longer than me and it would have been half a metre across the head with a lot of teeth."
When the shark released him and turned to take another bite, Mr Williams dived deep, hiding in a gap in the reef.

"I kept losing that much blood in the water that I kept losing sight of it. I had to keep moving from hole to hole to get a better view of it. It was the biggest shark I've seen in 20 years of diving."
Two fellow divers came to his aid and the shark disappeared, possibly deterred by the electronic repellent device worn by one of the men. The three divers were picked up by a fishing boat and Mr Williams was taken to hospital, where doctors treated deep gashes in his arm.

Mr Williams resolved to dive again but only after buying a shark repellent prod, which are increasingly popular among divers and surfers.

Ten days ago a student, Sarah Whiley, 21, was killed in chest-high waters after being attacked by up to three bull sharks off North Stradbroke Island in Queensland.

She died of shock and heavy blood loss after the sharks ripped off both her arms.
She was the tenth person to be killed by sharks in Australia since 2000.