JUST when you thought it was safe to go back in the water ..... this mini monster washed up in the shallows of Branksome Beach.

Young Barnaby Bell couldn’t believe his eyes when they alighted on this shark and it caused great excitement among the many people enjoying the Poole beach in the sunshine.

“It was in the water dead,” said the youngster’s mum Dionne Bell.

“We just picked it up from the water. It caused quite a stir.”

The family from Branksome Park were splashing in the sea when they spotted the creature in shallow water.

“I have never seen anything as big as that or as shark looking as that,” said Dionne, pointing out that it had no teeth.

“Only at the sealife centre,” said Barnaby, who is nearly seven. “Maybe it escaped.” But it did not deter them from going back into the sea.

The beast was identified by Marc Smith of Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Chesil Centre as a Starry Smoothound. He said they were right not to be alarmed, pointing out it was completely harmless and mostly fed on crabs.

They can grow to 1.4m and he said the shark could well have been a breeding adult. They liked to hunt crabs on sand and gravel so it was not surprising it was found near a sandy beach, he said.

“What a great find! Many people do not know we have over 30 species of shark living around the UK. This particular shark gets its name from the white spots on the top of its body which look like stars.

“Although the Starry Smoothound is fairly widespread it is sad to see any shark that is dead. Fifty per cent of UK shark, skate and ray species are now classified as threatened or near threatened on the IUCN Redlist. It must have been an exciting experience to get up close and personal with such a beautiful animal.”