UPDATE: Shark attack victim told mother sharks were 'rare' day before death

The British expat killed by a great white shark at Byron Bay yesterday told his mother the day before that sharks were rare in Australia.

Paul Wilcox, 50, joked about sharks after he had recently moved to the NSW coastal town from Sydney, the Mirror reports.

"They are very rare here, I’ve never seen one," he was quoted as saying.

His mother Marie said that her son was always careful.

"He loved his swimming and he was in the water four or five times a week," she said.

"He adored the sea."

Mr Wilcox had only recently arrived to live in the beachside community with his wife Victoria, Fairfax Media reports.

The couple, originally from Warwickshire, first moved to Sydney around 10 years ago before moving up north.

Mrs Wilcox was reportedly nearby when her husband was bitten on his right leg by the shark, sustaining severe injuries, around 10.30am yesterday.

A swimmer found Mr Wilcox floating in shallow water close to the shore line and pulled him in to the beach but he was pronounced dead at the scene despite efforts by paramedics to revive him.

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said at the scene there had been "major blood loss" and Mr Wilcox had "probably died in the water".

The expat had been wearing a black wetsuit and flippers and it is believed he had been attempting the 900m swim from The Pass to Byron Bay's Main Beach, a popular swim among locals, when the attack happened about 15m from shore, News Corp reports.

Mr Wilcox is said to be a former IT specialist who founded a type of self-improvement business called Refocus Learning in which he gave seminars and helped coach company directors.

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