"It repeatedly bit at both of his legs and caused serious wounds on both the right and left side.  "The man managed to make it back towards the shore and was stabilised on the beach.  "He was then airlifted to hospital where his right leg was amputated above the knee and his left foot was partially amputated.  "He remains in a critical condition."  Local media today reported that a shark had been sighted several times before today's attack at Clovelly Beach near the popular holiday resort of Fish Hoek, around 20 miles south of Cape Town.  A video uploaded on YouTube taken moments after the attack shows a shark lurking in the water.  In it a huge shark can be clearly seen swimming within a few feet of the shoreline as frightened members of the public gather on the beach.  A statement released by the organisation also claimed the swimmer had ignored explicit orders not to enter the water. The statement said: "On arrival on-scene a 42 year old man was found on the shore suffering complete amputation of his right leg, above the knee, and partial amputation of his left leg, below the knee. "It appears he was rescued from the water by a bystander who left the scene before we could identify him. "The 42 year old man is believed to be a British citizen but resident locally in South Africa, but this has not yet been confirmed.  "The man was stabilised on-scene by paramedics and airlifted to Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic hospital by helicopter in a critical condition but he is now believed to have been stabilised.  "The man was conscious when paramedics attended to him on the beach but was sedated on-scene by paramedics in their efforts to stabilise the patient."  It added: "From what we understand the City of Cape Town shark spotters had flown the "sharks present – no swimming" flags since early this morning and bathers to Fish Hoek and the individual had personally been warned, by the shark spotters, not to swim due to the presence of at least three White Sharks visible in the water close inshore since this morning."
A British expat is believed to have been attacked by a shark while swimming off the coast of Cape Town in South Africa.