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A body surfer survived a head-on shark attack by "punching it until it let go" while at a nudist beach in Australia.

Paul Kenny was bitten in the arm by the bull shark and said there was "blood everywhere".

He told how the huge fish just missed an artery during the terrifying incident.

Graphic photographs show his injured arm, but Paul appears to be proudly showing off his wound following his act of bravery.

Paul was body surfing at Samurai beach in New South Wales on Saturday morning when he was attacked.

The 50-year-old told how he ran out of the water desperately after fighting the shark off.

He told Sky News : "I think [my arm] got the end of his mouth because his head was bigger than [the size of the bite mark], it's not just a little head like that.

"But I think he just turned and snapped and just got the end of it and just missed an artery, thank God.

"I was coming in. So I went to move out a bit deeper to get a better wave and just put my head down and headbutted it and then it just grabbed me, and I just started punching it until it let go."

He said he held his arm while it was bleeding.

The beach had recently re-opened after being closed because a whale had been washed up, prompting fears of increased shark activity, reports say.

An eye-witness told Sky he was camping on the beach when he saw the attack unfold.

Chris Stewart said he heard a man screaming out for help, adding that he was bleeding at the bicep.

Paul is now being treated in hospital and is believed to be in a stable condition.