A killer shark “attacked” shocked shoppers after special effects wizards installed the lifelike creature in a fishmonger’s.

A team of artists and animatronics experts spent two weeks creating the bloodthirsty beast and embedded it in Steve Hatt’s fish counter in Essex Road. Islington.

Customers panicked and laughed when the model first twitched, then thrashed, snapping its jaws amid the catch of the day.

Producers worked through the night placing cameras in the shop to film reactions to the stunt.

The prank was to promote Sharknado 2: The Second One - a sequel to the cult B movie, in which killer sharks terrorise New York after a freak storm floods the city.

Mr Hatt, said: ‘We’ve sold some big fish in our time and pride ourselves on our extensive range of freshly caught seafood, but we have never stocked anything as menacing or as unusual as a Sharknado shark.

“Talk about a having a bite of dinner – this dinner bites you.”

Sharknado 2 airs on the Syfy Channel today at 9pm.