A GREAT white shark the 'size of a boat'was spotted swimming dangerously close to a popular tourist beach – sparking a public alert.

The huge 13ft beast was seen prowling the coastline near Aldinga Beach just south of Adelaide on Saturday morning.

In a clip taken by fishermen from their vessel, the shark can be seen circling the boat below the water's surface just under half a mile from the shore.

They managed to work out the shark's size after comparing the creature alongside their boat.

The great white was spotted before lifeguards were in attendance and police were called in to warn beachgoers against entering the water.

The footage was shared online in a public alert with many stunned by the shark's close proximity to the beach.

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The Facebook post said: "We encourage all members of the public in the Aldinga bay area to notify others of this shark encounter which took place around 500m off the coast, directly out from the boat ramp."

One commented: "Don’t think I’ll be swimming too far out next week.

Another added: "I'm okay to stay in the shallows."

According to experts, sharks will sometimes swim closer to shore to find food or to reproduce away from predators further out.

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In 2022, there were 15 known shark attacks across Australia despite encounters being incredibly rare.

In February last year, British diving instructor Simon Nellist was attacked by a 15-foot-long predator at Buchan Point near Little Bay in Sydney.

His tragic death was the first fatal attack in the area in nearly 60 years.

Another swimmer who lives near the area named Barbara told the Daily Mail that she would see Simon often and they always greeted each other.

She said: "He always wore a wetsuit, but the water here is quite warm and no one else really wears one." 

Expert Lawrence Chlebeck had previously said that the beast probably mistook the swimmer for a seal when it launched and attacked the Brit.

He told the outlet: "Great white sharks are obviously large predators that expend a lot of energy so they need a lot of high-energy food and the blubber of a seal is perfect for that."

The diving instructor, who moved down under six years ago where he met the “girl of his dreams” Jessie Ho, was just 150m away from the beach when he was attacked.

Witnesses said they heard the victim yell out for help in desperation as the shark pounced just after 4.30pm on Wednesday.

The great white allegedly “attacked vertically” before dragging the man’s body out of the ocean.

Later in June, a surfer shared the dramatic moment his nephew survived a shark attack in Queensland and warned that the animals were "stalking" swimmers.

Long-time North Stradbroke Island local Russell Specht took to social media to share the story and warn tourists of the hidden danger of the whale migration.

Specht, who posted an aerial photo of the monster shark, said his lifeguard nephew Logan had a “really close call” while surfing the popular break.

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“He had to put the board between him and a big white … he thought it was over,” he said in his Instagram post.

“I had to post something as too many tourists just have no idea."

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