Geoff swims every morning in Sydney Harbour, just meters from where Lauren O'Neill was attacked by a shark. This is why he has no plans to quit – and there's one thing he never will

A brave local is swimming in Sydney Harbor again just days after a woman was almost killed in a brutal shark attack – and wants others to get back in the water too.

Potts Point retiree Geoff Petersson, 75, says rip-roaring swimmer Lauren O'Neill won't stop him from jumping into the water every morning at Elizabeth Bay.

Ms O'Neill, 29, was attacked by a vicious bull shark just meters away from Mr Petersson's regular swimming spot on Monday evening.

She lost gallons of blood – and almost her entire left leg – after the shark ripped open her flesh below the knee and bit down to the bone.

Her limb was saved by a team of expert surgeons at St Vincent's Hospital, in Sydney's CBD, who operated on her several times from Monday evening to Tuesday morning. She is now expected to make a full recovery.

However, that hasn't deterred Petersson, who told Daily Mail Australia he felt safe swimming in Elizabeth Bay despite recent warnings.

“I've been swimming here most mornings for the last ten years. “I'm not going far, just a few laps between the marina and the pier,” he said Thursday.

“But you wouldn't see me swimming at dawn or dusk.”

Mr Petersson told Daily Mail Australia he felt safe swimming in Elizabeth Bay despite recent warnings: 'I'm not going far, just a few laps between the marina and the pier'

Mr Petersson said there were about half a dozen people swimming in Elizabeth Bay most mornings, but he had been alone in the days since Ms O'Neill was attacked.

“I thought if I got back in the water it might encourage others to get back in the water too,” he said.

Residents who rushed to help Ms O'Neill on Monday said she was outside a “harbour pool with nets” and “swam around the boats”.

Neighbour Michael Porter said he was alerted by Mrs O'Neill's “soft scream” for help outside his window just before 8pm when he saw her clinging to a ladder on the dock.

“I saw Lauren leaning on the ladder with her leg behind her,” he said.

'There was a large dark red pool of blood. Automatically I knew it was an emergency, I grabbed my phone and ran outside calling Triple Zero.”

Mr Porter was soon joined by several other neighbours, including 'hero vet' Fiona Crago, who applied tourniquets to stop the bleeding.

Ms O'Neill spoke for the first time about the attack on Wednesday afternoon, saying she was taking a short dip near the shore when the animal bit her.

Lauren O'Neill, 29, (pictured) was attacked by a vicious bull shark just meters away from Petersson's regular swimming spot in Elizabeth Bay on Monday evening.

“(Lauren) would like to thank her heroic and very kind neighbors for the crucial assistance they provided her,” said a statement issued on her behalf by St. Vincent de Paul Hospital on Wednesday.

The statement also said Ms O'Neill was 'extremely grateful' to paramedics and police officers for their 'quick and caring action at the scene', as well as the doctors and specialist surgical teams who helped her in hospital.

“She would also like to thank the public for their support and kindness,” it said.

There are currently no shark nets or net enclosures in Elizabeth Bay Harbour.

However, it is believed that the City of Sydney Council is exploring the possibility of expanding grid locations along the harbor coast.

Elizabeth Bay resident Judy Fernendez said locals were still reeling from the attack on Monday and hoped it would be a wake-up call that shark nets were needed.

Ms O'Neill was attacked near a jetty in Elizabeth Bay in Sydney Harbor (map shown)

Emergency services rushed to Elizabeth Bay at 7.45pm on Monday to find Ms O'Neill with a serious bite to her leg and 'major blood loss'.

'Without encroaching on the marina. We have enough space to enclose a swimming area,” she said

“I think there's a whole range of controls that the council needs to take into account.”

Ms O'Neill suffered another blow on Thursday evening when a leaked photo revealed the significant wound to her lower leg.

The image, which Daily Mail Australia has declined to publish, shows a medic holding her foot, with Ms O'Neill's bandages apparently removed and her painted red toenails visible.

The Sint-Vincentius Hospital has started an investigation into how the image became public.

The avid kayaker and swimmer remains in hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery after the attack.

The incident was the first serious attack in the port since 2009, when navy diver Paul de Gelder lost his right leg and hand to a bull shark.