THIS is the heart-stopping moment a postman came face-to-face with a nine-foot blue SHARK with a fishing hook caught in its face in Cornwall.

Keen wildlife photographer Martin Yelland captured the amazing moment the blue shark swam just inches away from him off the coast in Penzance.

The man swam right next to the nine-foot blue shark off the coast of PenzanceCredit: Martin Yelland

The mighty creature sadly had a fishing hook lodged in the side of its faceCredit: Martin Yelland

The man can be seen snorkelling right next to the marine creature in the jaw-dropping pictures.

But what stunned the diver was that the nine-foot shark had a massive hook lodged in the side of its face.

It’s believed the giant blue shark – which can measure up to 13ft – was left with the foreign object sticking out of its mouth because of muffed fishing practices.

Martin, a postman from St Erth, told the Sun Online: “It was a beautiful clear day and we saw loads of dolphins, some really small ones with their mothers too.

“It was quite a long wait for the sharks, maybe three hours until the big nine-foot female made an appearance.

“Initially, there were two smaller sharks nibbling the bait, but not sticking around for long.”

Stunning images captured the moment the postman swam right next to the massive animal in the Cornish waters.

He added: “When the big female did finally turn up, it was the icing on the cake of a brilliant day.

“She stayed with us until the skipper said we had to leave due to the tide, and impending darkness.

“The only sad thing was she had a hook in the side of her face, due to fishing practices.

“We asked our guide what could be done for the shark, but apparently even if they could catch the shark, it may cause it even more stress to attempt to remove it, which they might not have been able to do anyway.

“A sad, but possibly poignant reminder about the state of our seas and fishing.

“It was exciting seeing the big shark, as she was a good few feet larger than the shark I saw on my previous trip.”

CLOSE ENCOUNTER

Blue sharks are hunters and have been known to attack humans – but this is relatively rare.

The animals are reported to circle swimmers or divers for 15 minutes or more before going in for a bite – they are “not overly aggressive” but should be approached with caution.

In Britain, blue sharks are generally found in the slightly warmer water of the South West of England, although they can turn up elsewhere and have been sighted to the north of the British Isles.

This winter shark spotting comes after a summer of close encounters with sharks along the British coastline.

Earlier this year, a shark was seen leaping out of the sea in front of a stunned photographer off the Welsh coast.

The long-tailed thresher shark, which can be up to 25ft long, was snapped making the spectacular leap near Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire.

Snapper Ken Barnett of the Sea Trust was lucky to capture the amazing show.

He said: “Such a great sight to see this thresher shark leave the water at Strumble Head.”

The mighty animal was seen leaping out of the water, as its tail grazed the surface before splashing back under.

This is a rare sighting of a thresher shark in UK waters – as they generally stay far offshore over deeper water.

And earlier in the year, a fisherman grappled with a “monster shark” that sparked terror at a beach – saying he’s “never seen anything like it in 13 years”.

Darron Tapper, 54, said the shark pulled his fishing rod out of his hands and almost dragged him in with it when it went for his lure.

He saw a large shadow under the surface but was unable to properly identify the creature although he believes it may have been a shark due to the sheer power of its bite.

Darron returned to Boscombe beach in Bournemouth, Dorset to alert lifeguards.

By that time they had received two other reports from bathers of what was suspected to be a shark in the water off the busy beach.

The sightings prompted an RNLI lifeguard to use a megaphone to tell everybody to get out of the water in scenes reminiscent of the classic movie Jaws.

They also put up red flags on the beach – the RNLI’s signal to warn swimmers of a serious hazard in the water.

Blue sharks are hunters and have been known to attack humans – but this is relatively rareCredit: Martin Yelland

The mighty creature captured off the Cornish coast was a nine-foot female blue sharkCredit: Martin Yelland

The diver was stunned that the nine-foot shark had a massive hook lodged in the side of its faceCredit: Martin Yelland

Blue sharks can usually be spotted around the South West coast of England in the summer months, normally 10 miles offshoreCredit: Martin Yelland