Shark attack
A close encounter with a shark has left an Australian surfer shocked Getty

A surfer in Australia had a narrow escape from a shark attack when the beast jumped on his board off Sydney's Bondi beach. Lifeguards described the incident as a near-miss.

Dean Norburn's encounter with the shark, said to be about 6ft long, happened when he was surfing with his two friends, he told AFP, according to The Telegraph.

"We were just past the break and as I was paddling in a little bit, I slowed down and went to sit up on my board and... as I did that, the shark brushed by me and landed on my board," Norburn said. The surfer added: "As quick as it [the shark] came up it jumped off my board... swam towards one of my friends, swam under his board and then swam off."

Norburn said he was shocked. "It gave me a bit of a shock as you can understand. It's really quite freaky... it was my first [encounter with a shark] and hopefully it's going to be the last."

Norburn swam fast back to the beach after his encounter. "My swimming lessons came back into play and I swam as hard as I could back to the beach. It was a massive sense of relief and you are also trying to digest what just happened," he recalled.

The surfer and his friends were not injured, Bondi Rescue Lifeguards has confirmed. "We had a small shark (6 foot) jump on a local surfer's board this morning then swim off under another surfer. The man was not injured. Lifeguards spoke to both men and cleared the water afterwards," they wrote on their Facebook page.

More on shark attacks