Deep Sea World has helped a 30-year-old woman overcome an extreme phobia of sharks.

Karen Moore was so frightened of the water after having seen the film Jaws as a seven-year-old, that she was unable to even go paddling in the sea.

In need of expert help, she contacted Hypnotist Ali Campbell who used a mixture of hypnotism and Neuro Linguistic Programming to try to cure the phobia.

With the sessions appearing to have worked, Karen decided to test herself before flying off on holiday this summer, by going swimming with sharks at Deep Sea World.

Although the Sand Tiger Sharks at the sea life centre in North Queensferry are not commonly known to attack humans, they are between 10 and 12 feet long and give the impression of being extremely ferocious.

Expert divers accompany members of the public who want to try swimming with the sharks and give a safety briefing first before demonstrating how to use the equipment in a small pool.

“We get a lot of nervous people and a lot of people who have never done any diving, so we teach them the necessary skills first so they are comfortable – we don’t just drop them in with the sharks straight away,” explained diver Graeme Walker.

After spending 15 minutes in the water and even managing to stroke one of the Centre’s two Angel Sharks, Karen said: “I still can’t believe I’ve done it. I never thought I could do anything like that in a million years! I feel I could do anything, and I can’t wait for my holiday in Spain now!”