A 25-year-old Melbourne man is in hospital after being mauled by a shark off Victoria's most famous surfing spot, Bells Beach.
Peter Galvin, of Yarraville, was surfing on the Winkipop reef break shortly before dusk when a shark lunged at his left leg.
Senior Constable Lisa Kearney, of Torquay Police, said Mr Galvin was surfing about 50 metres apart from friend Andrew Majerni 100 metres from shore.
"The victim was sitting on his board with his legs dangling over the side and the shark has come up from underneath and grabbed his left leg in the calf and thigh area," she said.
"His mate saw he was in trouble and went to help, helped him into shore."
Mr Galvin received puncture wounds to the top of his calf and a major gash under his knee when he was attacked about 8pm, Rural Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said.
Mr Galvin made his own way back to the beach, where bystanders tried to stem the blood flow while calling for paramedics, who later treated him at the scene.
An ambulance helicopter landed between rocks on the beach and took him to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he remains in a serious but stable condition.
Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokesman Phil Cullen said: "He was surfing off Bells Beach at the time and the alarm was raised by another surfer, who ran up the beach in search of a mobile telephone.
"By the time our people arrived, the man was in significant pain and had to given pain relief before he could be loaded onto the helicopter."
Senior Constable Kearney said there had been a number of shark sightings in the area and Mr Galvin had a lucky escape.
"He (Mr Galvin) is lucky to be alive and that he wasn't pulled off the board," she said.
"A tooth was found in his wetsuit. He had been bitten from behind, resulting in wounds to his upper thigh and lower calf. He was very lucky to escape without being more seriously injured," she said.
"The alarm was raised by two British backpackers in a car park overlooking the beach. His offsider, who was with him at the time, ran up the stairs to see if anybody was there to help out. So they came down and put pressure on the wounds until ambulance and local police got down there. We don't know who they are, but they've done well."
Senior Constable Kearney said Mr Galvin's mother lived in the Torquay area and had rushed to Melbourne to be with her son.
Surfing Australia spokesman and long-time Bells surfer Stephen Robertson said the attack happened at dusk and that witnesses reported seeing a shark between 21/2 and three metres long after Mr Galvin's left leg and surfboard were savaged.
