A British family was left 'terrified' after being circled by a shark just off a beach at a popular holiday resort in Spain.<br /><br />Holidaymaker Jessica Kenny, 27, was paddling in the sea at Playa Arenal d'en Castell, Menorca, with her four-year-old son when she spotted a shark that came 'zig-zagging' toward them. <br /><br />She quickly realized it was following her dad, Darren, 57, who was swimming ahead toward some buoys, on Monday.<br /><br />Passers-by began screaming and calling for the lifeguard - who dialed for backup and put the red flags out.<br /><br />Children were hurriedly evacuated from the sea, but others were allowed to come close enough to video the shark.<br /><br />Jessica, a GP receptionist from Liverpool, said: 'I was only up to my waist with my little boy - while my dad had swam ahead.<br /><br />'We were laughing and joking because it was cold.<br /><br />'Then we saw a weird thing sticking out the water - we were joking around, saying it must be a shark.<br /><br />'But we didn't believe it.<br /><br />'It was quite strange, zig-zagging around us.<br /><br />'As it came closer, we realized the thing sticking out of the water was a fin.<br /><br />'We were like, 'Oh my god - that's a shark'.'<br /><br />The mum-of-two ran out of the water with her son - while others on the beach laughed.<br /><br />But Jessica realized the shark - believed to be a blue shark - was heading towards Darren, who'd started swimming back to the beach.<br /><br />She said: 'We'd lost sight of it after we turned around.<br /><br />'But we saw it was following my dad back to the beach. It was circling him - but it wasn't going for him if that makes sense.<br /><br />'Honestly, it was so scary, but my dad loves everything to do with the sea.<br /><br />'When we were back on the beach, he was so excited.'<br /><br />Jessica and Darren tried to calm her son down - who was 'a bit upset and worried' after the ordeal.<br /><br />'My dad told him how lucky he was to have seen a shark at four years old,' she added. 'In all his 57 years, he'd never seen one.<br /><br />'They decided to name it Freddie.'<br /><br />The family left the beach at 4:35 pm, an hour after the shark was first spotted - and the lifeguards were still trying to chase it out.<br /><br />Darren, a lorry driver, said: 'It was such a surreal experience.<br /><br />'I've always wanted to see a shark - even going snorkeling in Jamaica and Cuba just so I could spot one.<br /><br />'I can't believe I swam with one in Menorca, with my daughter and grandson.'<br /><br />The shark sighting is believed to be the first so far this year near a Costa beach.<br /><br />A shark was spotted on the same beach in June 2018 when swimmers were also banned from entering the water for the entire afternoon. <br />
