A Woman in Australian has survived a shark attack by a Great White after defending herself with her paddle when the shark knocked her off her surf ski. The shark’s victim, Linda Whitehurst said: “I thought this is it, he is going to grab my leg. I had my blade ( her paddle) and I just kept punching, punching, punching.”

She suffered only minor cuts on her right arm in the battle with the 2.5 metre long shark.

She was then able to get back onto her surf ski and paddling to safety at the famous surfing beach in Byron Bay known as “The Pass”, on the east coast of Australia.

“The shark circled the surf ski and then swam directly at her” said Police officer Owen King.

“She was able to defend herself from the shark by striking it in the mouth with the paddle from the kayak. The shark then took off and swam away from her.”

She was about 150 metres from the beach when the attack happened.

Local lifeguards said this was the second attack involving a Great White in just a few days.

After the incident boats patrolled the area in search of the shark and people were advised to stay out of the water. The beach reopened after a few hours.

One of the lifeguards Stephen Leahy said: “There was a similar incident last Tuesday when a man in a kayak was menaced by a Great White, about 2.5 to 3 metres long, at Wategos Beach, the next beach around from where this lady was attacked today.”

This was the second attack in Australia in three days. A 31-year-old man was bitten by a Bronze Whaler on Saturday while enjoying a spear fishing trip on the Great Barrier Reef.

Back in January, an abalone diver escaped with his life after a Great White Shark half-swallowed him head first.

The diver’s lead weight stopped the shark’s teeth from biting him in half and the shark then released the diver.

Australia has its fair share of shark attacks which included six in 2006, according to figures from the International Shark Attack File. Worldwide in 2006, there was a total of 62 shark attacks.