Shark shocks swimmers inside 'safe' enclosure

Swimmers at a Western Australia beach got a rude shock this morning when they found they were sharing their supposedly safe swimming enclosure with a shark.

The 1.8-metre whaler shark made it inside the Ellen Cover Swimming Enclosure at Albany.

Middleton Beach was closed and divers were called in to look for damage to the barrier.

But it is not known how the shark got inside.

"It is concerning, they're supposed to be safe in that regard, so we'll be talking to the manufacturers," Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington said.

The $200,000 barrier was installed in 2016 as part of a three-year trial.

It was made by Global Marine Enclosures.

Albany Council will decide if the swimming enclosure will stay in March next year.