An Instagram model has hit back at criticism from online trolls after being bitten by a shark while posing for photographs.

Katarina Zarutskie, from California, was holidaying with her boyfriend and his family in the Bahamas last month when she spotted people snorkelling with some nurse sharks.

Ms Zarutskie decided to make the most of the opportunity and went into the water to get some photographs with the animals.

But while posing for the pictures a shark bit into the model's wrist and held her underwater for several seconds.

It led to her needing stitches and antibiotics for her injuries, and she may need further surgery to remove fragments of the shark's teeth which remain in the wound.

Since the incident emerged the model has received a barrage of criticism from online trolls.