A BRITISH holidaymaker who wrestled a shark away from a group of toddlers at a Queensland beach has been sacked after returning home because he was meant to be on sick leave.

Paul Marshallsea, 62, was praised by the lifeguards after he rushed from a beach-side barbecue to keep the children safe.

The encounter was caught on camera by a nearby Channel 9 television crew.

The footage showed Mr Marshallsea grabbing the shark by the tail and dragging it away from the beach.

The grandfather said: “Where this shark actually came ashore, it’s shallow for about five or six yards, and a lot of babies and toddlers splash about there. It could have been very nasty"

But after returning from two months Down Under, Paul and his wife Wendy have been sacked by the charity they both worked for because they were off work for stress, The Daily Mail reports.

Mr Marshallsea is now facing life on the dole in one of Britain's worst unemployment blackspots in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.

"What am I going to do now? There’s not much call for shark-wrestlers in Merthyr Tydfil," he said.

The couple had headed to Australia for a 'get away from it all' sunshine break.

But charity trustees decided Mr Marshallsea was skiving after seeing footage of him wrestling with the shark.

Read more at The Daily Mail



Originally published as Shark-wrestle hero sacked for 'skiving'