British woman mauled by shark on Caribbean holiday as 'blood pours everywhere'

A holidaymaker mauled by a in a terrifying attack has recalled the moment she saw "blood pour everywhere" as the undersea predator chomped on her exposed hand.

Rachel Smith, 26, was left needing following a shark attack in shallow waters just off Rose Hall Beach in Montego Bay, , on May 8. She was shocked to see her ring finger hanging off and blood pouring from the wound after she was bitten on the left hand while paddling. Her sister, 28-year-old Lisa Smith, said she saw a metre-long shark slinking through the waters after the horror attack, which knocked the wind out of the siblings from Newham, London, and left them with nightmares.

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Lisa led her sister to safety while raising the alarm with other holidaymakers on the beach that day, shouting a warning to people as they paddled in the water before an ambulance arrived.

Rachel was rushed to hospital, where medics informed her she would need plastic surgery to fix the gruesome injury after it ruptured the tendons and nerves in Rachel's ring and little fingers. Pictures shared by the pair show Rachel's blood-covered hand, and her finger dripping on the floor as she lay in a hospital bed.

The pair had to cut their two week holiday short and jet to Cork, Ireland, where their parents live after they were told no local surgeons would be available for two weeks.

While Rachel has now received emergency surgery and is expected to regain her full movement in around 18 months time, the pair have suffered from nightmares since the shock incident. Rachel said: “There was so much blood coming out I honestly thought I was going to die.

"I was in complete shock. My whole hand went numb so I thought my whole hand had been taken off. I feel grateful to be alive and so grateful to have my hand.

"I have a long road of recovery ahead but I have a positive attitude and I believe I will get through it." Lisa added the two were "terrified" and she was left fearing the worst.

She said: "I honestly thought her fingers were gone - there was blood everywhere. At one point a vein burst and sprayed blood all over both of us.

"We were just crying and thinking she was going to die." The two claimed the flag on the beach was raised, indicating they could swim safely, and that doctors later confirmed the bite had likely come from a reef shark.

Lisa added the two were paddling in a cordoned off area, saying: "There were two young kids swimming by the rope, it’s lucky it wasn’t them. I’m just so glad and grateful that she’s alive."