Shark-wrestling granddad gets the sack

Remember the UK pensioner hailed as a hero after he was filmed wrestling with a shark while on holiday in Oz?

Well he's been sacked by the charity he works for after bosses spotted the footage and decided that wrestling sharks Down Under pretty much violated the terms of his sick leave.

This guy:

Paul Marshallsea, 62, from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, claims he risked his life at the beach outside Brisbane in January when he waded in to the surf and grabbed the 6ft shark by the tail amid fears it would attack paddling children.

A local news crew caught his intervention on camera and his exploits were beamed around the world.

But also watching were trustees of the Pant and Dowlais Boys & Girls Club, a children’s charity for which he worked – he had been away on work-related stress since last April.

The grandfather-of-one and his wife Wendy, 56, who also worked for the charity and was off ill at the time, flew back to Britain to letters informing them they had been sacked.

Mr Marshallsea has however hit back, saying he was “disgusted” by the way he had been treated and had taken the holiday with his wife on the advice of his GP.

“If I hadn’t gone in to save the kids on that beach that day my wife and I would still have a job,” he told WalesOnline.

“You think being in charge and running a children’s charity, they would have tapped me on the back.

“Where do I now get a job? There’s not much call for shark wrestlers in Merthyr Tydfil.”