I watched as woman in rubber ring was savaged by great white shark – I wrapped her in towels to stop the bleeding

 A HORRIFIED witness to a bloody shark attack has revealed how they wrapped the victim in towels after danger struck in the open sea.

Jacquelin Morley, 20, was paddling in an inflatable pool ring around 200 yards offshore in Australia when the 11ft predator sunk its teeth into her.

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Jacquelin Morley, 20, was attacked by the shark as it bit into her torso 200 feet from the shoreCredit: Facebook

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Witnesses said how they tried to help the young girl as she dramatically lost bloodCredit: 9 News

The 20-year-old has been pictured for the first time following the dramatic shark attack.

She managed to swim ashore where locals tended to her, before she was airlifted to hospital in Perth after the beast plunged its teeth into her torso.

Jacquelin frantically paddled the 200-metre stretch to get back to dry land following the ordeal.

Speaking to the West Australian, Darren Patten was swimming next to Jacquelin's group when danger struck.

He said: "It sort of makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up."

But just half an hour after the attack, the great white shark was spotted lurking close to shore in the water near Wylie Bay, near Esperance, Western Australia, news.com.au reports.

Local Barry Brown said he and his brothers had been nervously watching her drift for about half an hour prior to the attack."She just seemed to be getting deeper and deeper and deeper," Mr Brown told the ABC.

"Then we actually saw a figure under the [pool ring] and we weren't quite sure whether it was a dolphin or what it was."

He said the woman waved her arms and started calmly swimming on her back, with one hand holding her side, returning to shore.

"The shark actually circled a couple of times and then took back off into the blue."

Mr Brown said there was a long trail of blood in the water and he was worried the shark would return as he went out to help her.

When he was about 20 yards out he said he picked up the woman and ran as fast as he could back to the beach, where his girlfriend met them.

"We wrapped her up in a towel, in one motion, chucked her in the back of a car and then straight off to the hospital."

The attack took place in the notorious Esperance area, which has seen several fatal shark attacks in recent years.

The local authorities said the state’s shark response unit was investigating and urged swimmers to take care.

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The shark was seen prowling in the water

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The woman was taken to Perth for treatment