Researchers have reported that the 2,000lbs Great White Shark is currently 800 miles away from Britain and it could be pregnant. The shark, named Lydia, has been recorded crossing the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and heading straight for Britain.

Lydia is first of the recorded species crossing the region in question and scientists have been continuously monitoring its progress by using a GPS tracker. They have revealed that the 15ft shark might be heading straight to Britain in a bid to give birth to her newborn.

After being fitted with a tracking device last year, Lydia has covered more than 19,400 miles. The device was being fitted on the shark as part of a groundbreaking marine life study.

However, Lydia's quick move to swim 313 miles in the past 72 hours alone towards Europe has surprised experts.

Chris Fischer, expedition leader and founding chairman of the Ocearch shark tagging project, said the reason behind the dash of Lydia may be she is looking for somewhere to give birth to the young one.

"If I had to guess, I would guess that Lydia is pregnant and that she has been out in the open ocean gestating her babies and that this spring she will lead us to where those baby white sharks are born - the nursery", he added.

After a gestation period of 11 months, Great White Sharks are known to give birth to around two to 12 babies. When blood samples were tested during the time of fitting the tracking device on Lydia, nothing was found to show that it was pregnant.

But Mr. Fischer said it is not clear yet how exactly Great Whites reproduce. The sperm from the male enters in a packet covered with a shell. And female Whites can carry the sperm for sometime before being broken by a special organ inside them to make the shark pregnant. However, it is not known how long they can carry the sperm before it is finally broken.