I filmed myself swimming, but when I watched the video back I realized I was INCHES away from a bloody death

A LUCKY woman has escaped unharmed after unknowingly swimming just meters away from a lurking crocodile.

Alicia May went for a morning swim in Rollingstone Creek near Townsville, Australia, and accidentally caught the terrifying encounter on camera.

A woman accidentally filmed herself taking a dip near a crocodileCredit: 7 News

The crocodile was spotted in the creek just meters away from herCredit: Queensland Desi

The woman only noticed the scary encounter when she rewatched the video laterCredit: Queensland Desi

The mother of five has been taking her children to the creek as a family weekend ritual for more than a decade.

She regularly films underwater to capture the healthy moments of children playing.

But one day when she looked at the footage again, she saw a huge, dark outline lurking at the bottom of the murky water.

In the clip, a vague figure of a tall creature with a tail and two feet appears for several seconds.

“I was a little shocked to see something big in the video, so I played it slowly, paused and zoomed in.

“I thought, ‘Wait, this actually looks like a crocodile,'” she said ABC.

Convinced she saw a crocodile in the video, May reported it to the Ministry of the Environment Science and innovation (DESI).

Tony Frisby, DESI’s senior wildlife officer, confirmed that it was indeed a “large” species of crocodile, estimated to have grown to a length of three meters.

The wildlife officials conducted a search of the creek and nearby areas using a drone in an attempt to find the beast but failed to locate it.

The crocodile was spotted in the reptile removal zone forest rangers if they exhibit dangerous behavior.

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Mr Frisby added that the crocodiles often swim upstream in search of fresh water or prey such as pigs. birds or wallabies.

“Crocodiles are highly mobile and travel upstream in our rivers and creeks to obtain fresh water and feed on animals that come to the banks to drink,” Frisby said.

“You never know what may be lurking in the waterways, and people really need to make wise choices when they are near the water in Croc Country.”

The department has installed crocodile warnings in the area and urged visitors to avoid the creek.

Any sightings of the reptile must be reported to conservationists.

The terrified mother said her close encounter with the beast was enough to deter her from ever returning to the swimming spot.

“It’s kind of scary because we actually go swimming in a lot of creeks all the time. We go hiking and stuff and have little adventures,” May said.

“This definitely scared me.”