This spear fisherman was diving in search of a shipwreck but crossed the path of a giant 15-foot great white shark.

Off the shore of Outer Banks, North Carolina, on December 31st, David Scherrer was about 60 feet underwater as he looking for the remains of a shipwreck but what emerged in the murky waters was a beast of the deep.

A great white shark of approximately 15-17 feet sneaked behind David but he managed to turnaround in time to prepare himself if the monster approached him further.

Fortunately, the shark veered off before it came any closer to David in a heart-racing moment for the diver and the crisis was averted.

David said: "I dove down to about 60 feet, sat there for a few seconds looking around for fish, didn't see any, turned as I'm getting ready to head to the surface, and saw this freight train of a shark heading towards me - it was massive, probably 15-17 feet.

"I couldn't believe my eyes how big it was, i was just shocked to see such a big animal.

"Luckily, it turned right after I saw it, when it was about 10-15 feet from me."

ENDS