http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3478747.stm

Diver flees with shark attached

An Australian man attacked by a shark swam and drove for help with the creature still clinging to his leg.

Luke Tresoglavic, 22, was snorkelling near Newcastle, north of Sydney, when he was bitten by a two-feet-long Wobbegong shark.

When the shark refused to let go, Mr Tresoglavic swam 300 meters (1,000 feet) to shore, walked to his car and drove to the local surf club.

Lifeguards flushed the shark's gills with fresh water to loosen its grip.

"I just realised I had to swim in like that, hanging on to it," Mr Tresoglavic told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Wednesday.

He had been snorkelling off Caves Beach, about 120 km (75 miles) north of Sydney.

A senior lifeguard at the local clubhouse, Michael Jones, said he could not believe what he was seeing when Mr Tresoglavic walked in.

"There's nothing in our procedure manual for that type of thing," Mr Jones said.

But he said Mr Tresoglavic was in good spirits.

"There was a side of humour to it," he said.

The snorkeller suffered puncture wounds to his leg from the shark's razor-sharp teeth, but did not need stitches - only a course of antibiotics.

The shark, however, died, and the Tresoglavic family reportedly buried it in their garden.

Wobbegong sharks can grow to three metres (10 feet) in length. They dwell on the sea floor and have excellent camouflage, making them hard to detect among rocks and coral.