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'Good to be alive': Young girl among group of surfers circled by huge shark at popular beach

A group of surfers have been circled by a large shark while surfing at a beach in New South Wales' north.

According to Dorsal, a shark-watching service, the shark was spotted at Seven Mile Beach near Lennox Head on Tuesday, about 9am. The beach was closed and reopened just after 10am.

Surfer Dave Sharp posted on Facebook about his encounter with the beast saying it was “good to be alive”. He said it circled him and a few others.

“Please check with your lifeguards before entering the water today as this shark was acting strangely coming straight up a few times and went directly under us more than once,” he wrote.

A surfer said he was circled by a shark at Lennox Head. Source: Facebook/ Dave Sharp
A surfer said he was circled by a shark at Lennox Head. Source: Facebook/ Dave Sharp

“It's a strange feeling paddling back in wondering if it's following you but happy to say everyone is safe and on land now.”

Mr Sharp told the Tweed Daily News his main concern was "a little girl out there with her father on a small board".

He helped people in the water remain calm and paddle back to shore as a group, and said the water was murky with lots of seaweed.

He later added on Facebook that the shark didn’t bump anyone on their boards or “appear to be interested in us”.

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“However, being this close to a big shark is still scary as it's their home not ours,” Mr Sharp wrote.

Mr Sharp believes the shark could have been a thresher but estimated it to be nearly three-metres long.

While thresher sharks are not considered dangerous, they are known for thrashing their tails near the surface.