'I was terrified': Experienced surfer knocked off board by shark

An experienced surfer has received the fright of his life after a shark knocked him off his board at a popular WA beach.

Rob Bruce had paddled out at Main Break in Prevelly around 9.30am when he was blindsided by the three-metre-shark beneath him.

“I wasn’t a long way from shore, maybe only 100 metres, and the shark just hit me from my right side and knocked me off my board,” Mr Bruce told The West.

“I could only see the back half of it, but I could see the fin and the tail fin so I definitely knew it was a shark.

“I was terrified and screaming and trying to alert surfers I could see in the distance.”

The 60-year-old Margaret River local wasted no time racing back to shore, with more than a dozen other surfers choosing to follow his lead.

But after just one hour sitting on the sidelines, watching others return to the water, an admittedly shaken Mr Bruce couldn’t help himself and made his way back out to the surf.

With the adrenalin still pumping, Mr Bruce said it felt like he had drunk five cups of coffee while he waited to catch his next wave.

That same beach was supposed to play home to this year’s Margaret River Pro surfing competition, but lingering shark fears eventually saw the event cancelled.

Last week, two other WA surfers were attacked just hours apart at Cobblestones and Lefthanders, raising concerns over the recent amount of shark encounters.