One shark attack shouldn’t put you off Tobago

Last week, the tiny Caribbean island of Tobago was left reeling after a British tourist staying there was attacked by a shark. Sixty-four-year-old Peter Smith from Hertfordshire was left with serious injuries to his left arm and leg, puncture wounds to his abdomen and injuries to his right hand after the attack. He is currently being treated at the island’s Scarborough General Hospital, where he is in a stable condition. The shark which bit him, believed to be a ten-foot long bull shark, has not yet been spotted or caught. Hotel staff, tour guides and boat owners will now be asking themselves if they could have done anything more to help prevent this terrible incident.

The beach where the tragedy struck is in Courland Bay on the south-western edge of the island. It is a stunningly beautiful, gently curving beach, with golden, sloping sands and tall coconut palms. I have swum and snorkelled off that beach many times and so have my children.