
Jaw-dropping images show a courageous woman swimming naked underwater with sharks as part of a mission to prove sharks are friendly and not deadly.

The unbelievable pictures show underwater model, Irina Britanova, 27, tailing tawny nurse sharks in The Maldives whilst striking poses for the camera.

Irina, who regularly poses for aquatic shoots, managed to hold her breath at a depth of 55ft so the stunning images could be captured.

In some frames she gets close enough to shark to hold on to its fin and get swept along for a ride.

Model Irina Britanova, 27, tails a tawny nurse shark in the Indian Ocean as part of a project to dispel the fearful myths surrounding the creatures

Photographer Andrey Nekrasov said the purpose of the photos was to capture beauty

At one point Irina managed to grab hold of the shark's fins and allowed herself to be swept along for the ride

The magnificent images were captured in the Indian Ocean by underwater photographer, Andrey Nekrasov.

The purpose of this project was to show that there's more to sharks than the fear and prejudice we place on them, and to highlight that most sharks are not dangerous to humans.

'What one can see in these pictures is a naked young woman talking underwater with sharks as they get to know each other; mutual curiosity,' Andrey said.

'The aim of this is to capture beauty in nature and not show any vulgarity.'

The brave model managed to hold her breath at a depth of 55ft for the stunning images

Come swim with me: Irina majestically glides along in the depths of the Indian ocean without any diving equipment

Around 10 sharks were nearby and were curious to come and see who had arrived in their territory

Tawny nurse sharks, scientifically known as Euro Nebrius ferrugineus, are slow-moving bottom-dwellers and have very strong jaws filled with thousands of small, jagged teeth.

'There were about ten or more sharks who showed curiosity and approached closely,' said Andrey.

'In such a situation with capturing sharks underwater, the model and photographer have to adjust to the circumstances.

Irina managed to hold her breath at a depth of 55ft in order to swim with the sharks

Tawny nurse sharks, scientifically known as Euro Nebrius ferrugineus, are slow-moving bottom-dwellers and have very strong jaws filled with thousands of small, jagged teeth

Skilled diver Irina places a hand on the back of the tawny nurse shark, who seems completely unflustered by the gesture

'I like to show naked nature, such as it is. I think the naked human in the wild looks harmonious.

'People usually like the pictures, though everyone with their different reasons.'

Tawny nurse sharks are generally very placid, but attacks are not unheard of and they will bite if harassed.

They generally feed on octopus and other invertebrates and hunt at night.

Let's be friends! Irina shows not sign of fear as the pets one of the sharks on the head. While tawny nurse sharks are generally placid attacks are not unheard of

At one with nature: Model Irina was completely naked for the photo shoot, which was designed to highlight the peaceful nature of most sharks

Brave Irina got very close to the sharks, who are generally peaceful but will bite if confronted or startled

Around 10 sharks swam around Irina during the shoot, but they were completely unperturbed by their underwater visitor

Video courtesy of photographer Andrey Nekrasov