A French fisherman says he was surrounded by beach goers when he caught a ‘baby shark’ at the weekend.

Tarek Bouguila,a father of seven, was fishing in St Mary’s Bay near New Romney on Sunday at about 11am when he reeled in the small fish, thought to be only a week or so old.

Mr Bouguila has been fishing as a hobby for more than 20 years and said he was sure the youngster was not a dog fish.

He said: “We had a normal reaction until we realised what it was.

“I have caught dog fish before, but nothing like that.”

It was confirmed the fish was kept out of the water for minimal time before being let free back into the water again.

Mr Bouguila’s wife Sharon said: “My first reaction was it has to have a mum and dad out there somewhere.

“It is just unusual, you don’t hear of sharks in the English Channel.

The discovery featured on the Express’ sister website Kent Online and sparked general debate as to the type of shark it was.

Most people felt it was a Smoothhound, a species that appear in British waters at this time of year to feed on crab.

They have a pointed snout and a cream or pale under belly.

According to the Britsh Sea Fishing website they are more common around the south and west of England, but “the range is increasing.”

The tiddler would not have caused the panic seen when a shark frightened swimmers in Herne Bay in July 2015.

They fled from the water to watch the shark from the safety of the beach.

Have you seen a shark off the Kent coast? Please email your pictures and video to kentishexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk.