Surfer bitten in shark attack:

A surfer suffered serious injuries to his leg Tuesday after reportedly being mauled by a shark in the latest attack off Australia’s east coast this year.

The 20-year-old man was surfing off Lighthouse Beach in the Ballina region, a popular spot some 740 kms (460 miles) north of Sydney, when he was bitten on his left thigh on Tuesday evening, New South Wales state police said.

He was able to swim back to the shore by himself before he was taken by paramedics to a nearby hospital in a serious but stable condition, police added, saying the beach would be closed for 24 hours.

A Japanese surfer was killed in February, while a surfer and a bodyboarder were seriously injured in separate attacks in Ballina in July. (AFP)