REPORTS that a Great White shark was seen swimming up the River Exe have been dismissed as "barking" by an expert who is studying the presence of the species in Westcountry seas.

However, Richard Peirce, chairman of the Shark Trust, believes there are credible accounts that the predator can be found in the seas around Devon and Cornwall.

Mr Peirce, a shark conservationist and researcher says his research, carried out independently of the Shark Trust, identified "clusters" of reports which supported the idea of an occasional Great White visitor.

He said: "There is no reason why we would not have them in our water – the big puzzle is why we haven't had a conclusive sighting yet.

"The conditions off the West of England are perfect, but not one has been positively identified.

"Sadly, we've killed off 70 per cent of the white shark population in the Atlantic, so the chances of spotting one are actually decreasing.

"They have probably been in our waters for thousands of years - so this is nothing new."

Some of the accounts dismissed by the shark expert include a woman who claimed she had seen a Great White swimming up the River Exe and a man who insisted he had seen one of the predators feeding on a group of seagulls in Lowestoft, Suffolk.