JAWS: Matt can work in the water for up to seven hours a day [MERCURY PRESS]

Matt Martin, 35, and his team make more than 1,000 dives in the ­3.4million-litre tank every year at the Blue Planet Aquarium in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

Wearing a wetsuit and armed with a scrubbing brush, he bravely works in the water for up to seven hours a day, despite it teeming with more than ten sharks.

The biggest is 12ft-long Storm, a sand tiger shark weighing a massive 650lb.

“I was petrified of sharks as a kid – mainly because of the Jaws films – and they are large, potentially dangerous animals”

Matt Martin

Matt said: “In the wild there have been a fair few incidents with sand tigers responsible for attacks, mainly in shallow waters, in accidents when people have irritated them or with spear fishermen.

“There’s always an element of danger.”

He added: “I was petrified of sharks as a kid – mainly because of the Jaws films – and they are large, potentially dangerous animals.

“We wear wetsuits to stop hypothermia and to prevent grazes. The way we train minimises the risk to us in the tanks.”

He said the sharks were most likely to be disruptive during mating season.

He said: “That’s when there is a lot of sexual energy going around and they can be a bit ­unpredictable.

“We are in there for about 1,000 dives a year. We joke that cleaning the tank is a bit like cleaning the Forth Road Bridge – it’s ongoing.”

You can dive with Storm and the other sharks. For details log on to ­blueplanetaquarium.com^[1].

References

1. ^{^} blueplanetaquarium.com (www.blueplanetaquarium.com)