A SURFER has told of paddling to safety with one hand after TWO great white sharks attacked him at once.

       Shannon Ainslie was surfing at Nahoon Reef in South Africa when two four-metre predators attacked him before he miraculously managed to swim back to shore.

       5

       Shannon Ainslie was flung off his board by a great white before a second went for him 5

       Shannon, who was 15 at the time, lived to tell the tale

       Shannon, who was 15 at the time of the event in 2000, was in the water when his brother and some of his friends got out because they felt uneasy.

       The surfer recalled a smell of sardines in the air - a scent which attracts sharks and serves as a warning to swimmers in the area.

       As Shannon was about to catch his first big wave of the day, one shark hit him with enough force to throw him into the air before it grabbed his hand and surfboard in its jaws - dragging Shannon under the water.

       Within seconds, another shark swiped for his head and shoulders, but missed - because the other had got him first.

       Shannon reckons the second great white ended up saving his life as he speculated the competition must have startled the first beast - as he lost grip of his hand.

       It was then that Shannon came face to face with one of the sharks, as he stared at a huge set of teeth and a dark black eye - before it bolted past, leaving him alone in the water.

       Most read in News

       PM'S GRIEF Boris Johnson's mum dies 'suddenly and peacefully' in hospital aged 79

       MURDER RAP Teenager, 18, charged with murder after woman in her 50s found dead in house

       DUKING IT OUT Andrew lawyer slams 'baseless' rape case as judge says to stop wasting time

       RAGE ROVER Moment stolen Range Rover rams BMW with 2 kids inside and smashes 12 parked cars

       Exclusive

       'CRASH' RAP Celtic starlet arrested after Glasgow teenager killed in 'hit-and-run'

       LOCKED OUT Landlord uses fingerprint locks to keep out tenants if they fail to pay rent

       Shannon surfaced from the water and quickly found his board before realising his right hand hanging off.

       The attack has been dubbed "the world's only" double attack by a pair of great white sharks.

       Blood was gushing from a hole in his hand with his wrist bone sticking out after the shark had bitten right through it.

       With the water empty of other surfers and swimmers, it was down to Shannon to paddle back to shore on his own before one of the sharks came back to finish the job.

       It took another 20 minutes of paddling until the surfer reached the shore, where his hand was strapped up to reduce the bleeding, and his brother rushed him to hospital.

       After a five-hour wait, he eventually received treatment - where he was given 30 stitches in his right hand and surgery to repair the hole in his wrist.

       Despite Shannon's horrific nightmare, he soon returned to the waters to surf as he considered himself more scared of sharks before the attack than after.

       5

       Fellow surfers assisted Shannon out of the water after he single-handedly swam back to shore 5

       Shannon resurfaced from the water with a hole in his hand and his wrist bone sticking out 5

       Shannon considers himself more scared of sharks before the attack than after Credit: Kristin Folsland Olsen