A BRADFORD photographer has captured dramatic images of the attempted rescue of a 14 foot long shark which stranded itself on the Yorkshire coast.

James Moorhouse took the shots from a drone above Filey beach on Thursday evening.

He said it had been "right time right place for sure".

The RNLI were involved in attempts to rescue the giant fish, which kept attempting to beach near Primrose Valley in Filey.

They attempted to coax it back out to sea after receiving calls from bystanders who spotted the shark in shallow waters yesterday evening, but sadly the animal, which was believed to be ill and was listing to one side, had to be put down by a vet.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue posted that its volunteers helped Coastguard and Lifeboat personnel to guide the 4.4-metre long creature back into the water as the tide came in.

But the shark appeared to be struggling as it was listing consistently over to its right-hand side and circling in the shallows.

It said: "Despite attempts to move it into deeper water the shark continued to head back to the beach where it restranded and later in the evening was put to sleep by a vet due to the poor prognosis. It is thought to be a male and would've been around the size and age where it would have been maturing into an adult.

"Basking sharks are generally a seasonal visitor to the UK, mostly being seen from Spring until Autumn, however there have been occasional sightings in Winter too. Satellite tagging studies in the UK show that they can move across the Atlantic to places as far afield as North America and North West Africa.

"They are most often encountered along the west coast of the UK, with sightings in the North Sea and eastern English Channel being somewhat rare."

Basking sharks are the second-largest shark, after the whale shark, and eat plankton. Adults typically reach 7.9 m (26 ft) in length.