A Great White shark that made headlines last year when it swam to Bermuda is set to be the first of its species to be tracked crossing the Atlantic.

Lydia, a 2,000lbs female shark named after the founder of Bradley University, was first tagged by researchers off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida last March as part of the Ocearch project.

Since then, the 14ft predator has been tracked swimming throughout the Atlantic, travelling around 19,000 miles, passing within 100 miles of South Shore last April.

As of yesterday, Lydia was swimming over the Mid-Atlantic ridge — the rough boundary between the east and west sides of the Atlantic — around 1,000 miles west of County Cork, Ireland.

While the species has been tracked travelling great distances in the past, making migrations of 14,000 miles, to date no Great White has ever been tracked crossing from one side of the Atlantic to the other.

Great White Sharks can be found in almost all coastal and offshore waters, including the northeast Atlantic and can reach a length of more than 20ft.

They have a fearsome reputation as maneaters due in large part to the blockbuster film ‘Jaws’ but typically feed on marine mammals, turtles, other fish and sea birds.