Charlize Theron's terror at shark attack beach

Actress Charlize Theron has recalled her childhood terror fleeing from sharks at a beach where surfer Mick Fanning was attacked by one of the deadly predators on Sunday (19Jul15).

Australian sporting legend Fanning hit headlines around the world when he bravely fought off the beast on live TV as it targeted him during the final of a world tour event at Jeffreys Bay, South Africa.

Now Theron, who often took trips to the beauty spot with her family as a young girl, has recalled how the waters of Jeffreys Bay are packed with sharks, and bathers are often ordered onto the beach by lifeguards to avoid an attack.

The South African actress tells USA Today, "It's a place I used to go as a kid on summer vacations. We had a house (nearby). As a kid we would swim in the ocean and you would hear... the lifeguards blowing on their whistles and all the kids would just run out of the water.

"We would just stand there and we would watch the shark - this was so sick (good) - as the wave would come up, we would watch the shark swim all the way (out of the bay) and then the whistle would go off again. And we would just run back into the water!"