The up-close encounter with a Starry Smooth Hound shark happened at Woolacombe beach. National Trust beach rangers and RNLI lifeguards were called by a member of the public who spotted the metre-long shark trapped in the shallows and becoming exhausted. The shark's nickname, "gummy shark", refers to the animals' short and stout tooth – better suited to crushing crabs than taking jaws-style bites out of human beings. Woolacombe beach rangers Gudrun Limbrick and Freya Womersley immediately recognised the fish as a shark.