The British boat caught blue shark record – which had stood for 58 years – has been smashed with an incredible 250lb+ fish taken ten miles off Cornwall.

The predator fell to the rod of South Kelsey, Lincolnshire angler John Dines who was fishing with a group of friends under the guidance of Bite Adventures, which specialises in shark trips out of Penzance in Cornwall. John is no stranger to big sharks, having previously landed blues to 160lb.

The great fish, which took a mackerel flapper bait, measured 2.7m long with a 1.1m girth and weighed in at 256.5lb (113kg) on board before being safely released. Encouragingly the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain will verify it as a new catch and release record – in the past anglers would have had to kill the fish to claim a record.

To pass the new catch and release or ‘measure and release’ tests, a shark needs to be measured, weighed and returned inside three minutes so that it has every chance to swim away safely and strongly.

Skipper Robin ‘Chippy’ Chapman said that the fish nearly spooled John on its first power-packed run after being hooked, leaving him with only 50 yards of line on the reel after tearing some 400 yards off it.

However, John was able to turn the fish and the 10/0 hook held, before embarking on a back-breaking 90 minute long fight. It was 40 minutes before they even saw the fish, and another 50 before they could boat it. In three days the party boated over 70 sharks and also spotted some 200 dolphins.

The previous record for a blue shark was 214lb (97kg), caught off Looe, Cornwall, in 1959.