AN UNEXPECTED seafront encounter with a shark left a Southend artist in a state-of-shock after his jaw-dropping catch.

Karl Sims was fishing on Southend seafront when he reeled in what is believed to be a starry smooth-hound - part of the houndshark family.

And Karl, who is an organiser of the City Jam street art festival, admitted this was only the second time he had been fishing in Southend - so the catch came as a huge surprise.

He said: “I caught it on the line and when it attached to the rod, it was really hard to pull in.

“When its fin popped of the water, I was taken back and thought: ‘What the hell?’

“I felt excited with this unexpected encounter, but also a bit worried in case it tried to bite me.

“But after taking a quick picture, we let the shark back into the water to swim away.

“It was a surreal experience – especially as it was my second time fishing in the waters, and for it to happen in Southend made it even more crazy!”

After sharing the snap of his find on social media, people were quick to brand the catch “impressive”, while others added there are lot of smooth-hounds in the Thames Estuary which are regularly caught by fishermen.

After taking a quick snap with the shark, Karl released it back into the water.

Starry smooth-hounds are small, long, thin sharks that can grow to a maximum length of up to 140cm.

They like a sandy and gravelly seabed, and they feed on crabs, lobsters and small bony fish.

The species of shark is commonly found in the north east Atlantic Ocean and can be spotted in the British Isles, the North Sea and the Canary Islands.

According to the international conservation charity ZSL, the Thames estuary is known to be home to “at least five different species” of shark.

This includes the “critically endangered” tope and starry smooth-hound types of the animal.