This is the shocking moment a shark swam right next to horrified holidaymakers on a packed beach.

Revellers were forced to flee the water in terror as the creature prowled close to the shore on Navarre Beach, Pensacola, Florida, yesterday (July 3).

Footage of the shark showed to getting dangerously near to children and families as they enjoyed the hot weather.

Some fled from the sea in a bid to get away from the shark.

Christy Cox, who filmed the video, could be heard begging people to get out of the water as the animal got closer to the huge group of people.

She said: "We're going to go, we're going to go. There's somebody still out there somewhere."

Some fled with paddleboards and beach equipment, while others grabbed their kids and ran back to the beach.

Speaking to local reporters, Cox said she believed the shark was looking for food and "trying to feed" as it swam past beachgoers.

No one is thought to have been injured.