'I was attacked by a shark for the second time on same beach - I can't wait to go surfing again'

A man who was on two separate occasions on the same beach says he can’t wait to get back in the water.

man and avid surfer was bitten in the same part of Bathtub Beach in Martin County, known as the Sharkpit. The two incidents occurred 12 years apart – but it hasn't diminished his appetite for the water.

The first time out, aged 16, Cole picked up a scar on his right hand from what was thought to be a reef . The second time was more serious.

He had been out with two friends and his now-fiancee Ana Peci to honour a pal who had recently died, and after paying tribute to his friends headed out into the water.

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He had been waiting to pick up a wave when, according to he shouted “I got bit!” after feeling his foot in a shark’s mouth. Unconfirmed reports claim it may have been either a tiger or bull shark and could have been up to eight feet long.

Recounting the horror moment to WPTV, Cole said: "I looked behind me and he was he kind of was just like, on the back of me.”

He was losing a lot of blood but managed to get back to the beach where Ana and his friends tied a tourniquet around his thighs. Fearing they might not have time to wait for an ambulance, they bundled into a car and dashed for Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital in Stuart while Cole was reportedly in and out of consciousness, later telling CNN: “I could just see the sides of the road, and I was like, I’m passing out … I’m losing it. I can’t stay awake.”

They remarkably made it in 10 minutes, where he received 93 stitches across two surgeries. He was found to have had tendons severed and was told recovery and physiotherapy would keep him out of the water for around six months.

The second bite was nothing like the first. In addition to the stitches, he also received 10 staples and was told he almost lost his foot. The first time out, all those years ago, he received just 12 stitches.

Cole claims his relative luck – not losing any toes or even part of his leg – was his late friend watching over him. Cole explained: “I didn’t lose any of my toes or anything, so he was looking over me. But he was like, hey, dumb a**, like, don’t go surf in that area anymore.”

Despite the trauma, Cole however will not be hanging up his surfboard.

“I wouldn’t care if I got my arm ripped off. You’re not getting me out of the water,” he told the same outlet, adding, “I don’t think you can find a surfer that’s ever been bit, that it’s ever stopped them”.

A has been set up for Cole’s medical expenses.