Swimmer tells of her killer whale terror

A WILD swimmer has spoken of her fear as a killer whale swam just a few feet underneath her.

Catriona Barr was in the water at her regular spot off the coast of Lerwick at Breiwick when she spotted the bull orca.

She watched in horror as the mammal swam below her and then turned round as if to take another look at her.

She told the BBC: “It was very close and very scary, powerful and very fast moving in the water.

“I know that they are not meant to attack human beings but I did feel very vulnerable.

“I thought, I need to not look like a seal and I need to get to the shore.”

Her close encounter was witnessed by onlookers from the shore.

Erik Isbister described how the animal “sped” towards Ms Barr before disappearing beneath the surface of the water.

He said he believed the mammal may have mistaken Ms Barr, who was wearing a wetsuit, for a seal. In an interview with the BBC, he said: “We saw the big male dorsal suddenly take a 90-degree turn and charge across the bay then he went under water and he must have swung in around the swimmer and next time we saw it he was breaching right in front of the swimmer.”

Ms Barr said that despite her ordeal on Wednesday morning, she ventured back into the water later that night in a bid to calm her fears.

She said: “Whenever you wild swim you worry about what’s under the water, that’s a normal part of wild swimming. A lot of it is about getting over that.

“I really felt it was important to get back in the water so I swam last night.”

Scotland’s only resident population – of nine orcas – can be found off the west coast. However, one of those was found dead off Tiree earlier this year after becoming entangled in fishing fear.

There are also several migratory pods found off the north and east coasts.