This is the moment a mum scrambled to rescue a stranded shark later found dead on Lepe beach.

The "exceptionally rare visitor" was first spotted "splashing" off the New Forest coast last Friday.

Alisha Openshaw, 38, realised it had got stuck in shallow waters and did not hesitate to try and help.

READ MORE: Brave mum-of-two rescues shark on Hampshire beach

She jumped in the water and pulled the grey animal by its tail in an attempt to get it to swim away.

Her brave actions were filmed by her mother.

An hour later, the shark, believed to be a smalltooth sand tiger, swam away in the direction of the Isle of Wight.

However, it was found washed up on the same beach the following day.

 

Its head, tail and fins were chopped off before biologists could get to it.

TV historian Dan Snow has called for them to be returned so they can be studied by experts.