Keepers at Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire Oaks came to the rescue when an unborn tropical shark got in to difficulty.

The tiny bamboo shark was unable to break out of its protective egg-case so staff at the aquarium gently cut open the egg to enable the shark, which has been nicknamed Bonzo, to hatch.

He was among a batch of eggs which were collected by divers from the aquarium’s giant Caribbean Reef display.

Blue Planet Aquarium’s Stacy Adams said: "We are currently looking after a number of shark and ray egg-cases, along with a collection of newborn babies.

"We spotted Bonzo struggling to emerge from his egg-case and decided to lend a hand.

"We very carefully made a small cut in to the outer casing which was just enough to provide him with a big enough gap to squeeze out. He appears none the worse for his slightly assisted birth and is doing well."

The eggs were removed from the main display by divers to protect them from the unwanted attentions of the other sharks and rays.

Found from the east coast of the Indian Peninsula to northern Australia and north as far as Japan bamboo sharks live around coral reefs and tidepools.

Their diet consists of meaty foods, such as shrimp, crabs, fish and squid. The sharks pose no threat to humans only reaching a maximum of just over a metre in length when fully grown.

Although born with dark bands across their bodies these will gradually fade as they mature and adults are usually a light brown colour.

Bamboo sharks actually prefer shallow waters, however they regularly become stranded in rockpools during low tide.

To combat this, they have the ability to survive for up to 12 hours out of water.

They are classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. The major threats to these sharks are the loss of their habitat, pollution and overfishing.