Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Lifeguard Scott McCartney: "People are scared at how close to shore the attack took place" 
 
 A 50-year-old British man has been killed in a shark attack off a beach in Byron Bay, the most easterly point on the Australian mainland, officials say. 
 
 Paul Wilcox, originally from Warwickshire, sustained severe injuries on his right leg at the popular tourist destination in New South Wales. 
 
 A swimmer brought him in to the beach but he was pronounced dead. 
 
 Beaches in the area have been closed for 24 hours and people have been warned to stay out of the water. 
 
 Mr Wilcox, a British information technology specialist, had been living in Australia for more than 10 years. 
 
 "At 10:45 police and paramedics were called to Main Beach after reports of a shark attack," New South Wales police said in their initial statement. 
 
 "He was in the water when he was bitten. He was seen floating in shallow water, close to the shore line, and dragged onto the beach. An ambulance was called and he was pronounced dead a short time later," the statement said. 
 
 Police said Mr Wilcox's wife was watching from the shore, ABC reported. 
 
 Image copyright Westpac Life Saver Rescue Image caption Eyewitnesses said they spotted a "six or seven foot" shark in the water 
 
 Witness Mark Hickey said he tried to help. 
 
 "I saw what looked like seaweed but it was blood in the water," he said. "I didn't know it was a person but when I realised, I ran out and waded to the bank and grabbed him and did CPR but it was too late." 
 
 He told local media he saw a "six or seven foot" shark in the water. 
 
 Rescue organisation Surf Lifesaving Australia said the beach was not supervised at the time of the attack as it had occurred a week before seasonal duties. 
 
 "At the council's request, lifeguards will be on duty for at least the next 24 hours ensuring the water remains clear," it said in a statement. 
 
 Shark attacks in Australia 
 
 New South Wales sees more attacks than any other state, followed by Queensland and Western Australia 
 
 The Northern Territory and Tasmania see the fewest attacks 
 
 Attacks in 2014: Woman killed at Tathra Beach, NSW (Apr), Man killed off Goldsmith Beach, SA (Feb) 
 
 Attacks in 2013: Man killed at Campbell's Beach, NSW (Nov); Man killed in Gracetown, WA (Nov) 
 
 Sept 2011-Jul 2012: Five people killed off Western Australia's beaches 
 
 Sources: Tarong.org.au, Australian media reports 
 
 Image copyright EPA Image caption Australian police said investigations into the shark attack were still ongoing 
 
 There have been several shark attacks off Australia's beaches in recent years. 
 
 In April, a woman was killed as she swam off Tathra beach, also in New South Wales. 
 
 The Western Australia government, meanwhile, has ordered a cull of sharks, following at least six fatal attacks off the state's beaches in three years. 
 
 Baited hooks have been installed off Perth's popular beaches. Any shark more than three metres long - which could include Great White, Tiger and Bull sharks - will be shot. 
 
 The controversial move prompted thousands of people to take part in protests against the culls. 

 Sharks are nine times more likely to kill men than women, new research from Australia shows. 
 
 Men are targeted in 84 per cent of all unprovoked shark attacks, and make up 89 per cent of all shark bite fatalities - which means that women are statistically more likely to survive a shark attack. 
 
 The numbers are from a study out of Bond University in Queensland to be published in the international journal Coastal Management this week. 
 
 Report author associate professor Daryl McPhee told the Telegraph the results were so surprising that he had to double-check them. 
 
 "Potentially men spend more time in the water, and are more risk-prone," he suggested. 
 
 The finding is part of a comprehensive study of shark attacks and shark attack deaths which showed a global threefold increase in "unprovoked shark bites" in the three decades to 2011. 
 
 Australia topped the leader-board for fatalities, with the highest number of shark attack deaths of any nation over the period. It recorded 171 shark attacks, 32 of which were fatal, compared with South Africa's 132 bites and 28 fatalities, and the United States, which recorded 769 bites but only 25 fatalities. 
 
 "The United States has by far the highest number of recorded bites but also the lowest percentage of fatalities, at just 3.6 per cent," Prof McPhee said, suggesting a higher rate of reporting coupled with the prevalence of smaller sharks might be responsible. 
 
 Prof McPhee speculated Australia's high number of fatalities could be due to Australians having "an obvious love and affinity with the water". 
 
 "The high level of usage undoubtedly plays a part," he said. 
 
 The type and size of sharks found in Australian waters is also believed to be a factor, with bull, tiger and white sharks prevalent. The white shark is responsible for the most bites globally. 
 
 An increased population of natural shark prey such as humpback whales and New Zealand fur seals in the waters near Australia was also likely a factor. 
 
 Prof McPhee looked specifically at 'unprovoked' shark attacks in his study. So were there really 'provoked' shark attacks in the literature? 
 
 "Absolutely," McPhee told the Telegraph. "People patting sharks on the head, making them angry, putting their hand in the shark's mouth to get a fishing hook out. Jumping on sharks and trying to ride them. There are provoked shark attacks that should win Darwin Awards," he said. 
 
 But he stressed our fear of sharks was not warranted given the risk they pose, and criticised expensive shark control programmes that he said kill not just sharks but other marine animals, including dugongs and turtles. 
 
 "Governments should focus investment on non-lethal alternatives, including public education," he said. 
 
 Shark attack: where in the world are you most at risk?
– Despite what police say was the "extraordinary bravery" of a beachgoer, a 50-year-old man was killed in a shark attack in Byron Bay in eastern Australia today. The man's wife was watching from the shore as he was attacked and received severe leg injuries, reports the BBC. "I saw what looked like seaweed, but it was blood in the water," a man who tried to save the victim tells the Daily Telegraph. "The shark came back to him and had another go. I didn't know it was a person—but when I realized I ran out and waded to the bank and grabbed him and did CPR, but it was too late." The attack comes after the release of new research from Australia that finds men are far more likely than women to be attacked and killed by sharks. According to researchers at Queensland's Bond University, some 84% of victims of unprovoked shark attacks are men, as are 89% of fatalities, the Telegraph reports. The lead researcher says this may be because men "spend more time in the water, and are more risk-prone." Over the 30-year period studied, Australia had 32 fatal shark attacks, more than any other country. (A shark cull off Western Australia this year caught 172 sharks, but none of them were great whites.)