Shark 'attack' in Quarry Bank

A shark attack in the Black Country all sounds a bit fishy but schoolboy Sam Hawthorne has a story to really get your teeth into.

In a scene reminiscent of Jaws the 14-year-old survived a terrifying ordeal when he was attacked by the beast – in his own bedroom. Susan Hawthorne heard screams in the middle of the night at the family home in Hawthorne Road, Quarry Bank and thought her son was having a nightmare. But moments later she found blood pouring from a wound.

She went into his room and switched on the light and saw the head of a shark embedded in Sam's left cheek, blood pouring from a gaping wound.

Bizarrely sleepwalker Sam had banged into the creature's head which was hanging on the wall of his nautical themed bedroom, a souvenir brought back from a trip to Portugal.

Mother-of-three Mrs Hawthorne said: "It was like something out of a horror film. I could see the shark's head attached to Sam's face and there was blood pouring down his pyjamas.

"When he looked in the mirror he had the fright of his life but being a bit vain his first thought was whether he would be disfigured.

"He is lucky the teeth did not catch his eye but he has got a scar and it looks as though he has been bitten by a dog.

"The shark must have been embedded in Sam's cheek for about 15 minutes and he was in a lot of pain."

She had when she woke her husband to tell him, he thought he'd had a bit too much home brew earlier that evening.

"It's certainly raised a few eyebrows, after all it's not everyday you hear about a shark attack in landlocked Black Country."

At Thorns School and Community College yesterday staff gave the reason for Sam's absence as 'shark attack.' Mrs Hawthorne, aged 40, added: "I took the shark's head in a bag to the school to show the staff.

"It has to go down history as the most unusual reason for a student to skip school."

And Sam, who is refusing to have the shark in his room again fearing a repeat attack, added: "Most students say the dog has eaten their homework, my excuse was I have been bitten by a shark. It was the most frightening experience of my life."