A new expedition is set to be mounted to try to find Great White sharks off the Outer Hebrides.

One of Britain's leading shark experts believes that shoals of Bluefin Tuna now regularly turning up off the islands makes it more likely that the fearsome predator will be following the prey.

In 2011 a group of Jaws hunters ended their first Great White search off the Western Isles after finding something more fearsome - the Hebridean weather.

The fierce storms during the two-week hunt saw a documentary-making tv crew leave and the ten gale-lashed volunteers - who have paid around £1,000 each to join the search - lose days on end to the weather.

In fact they failed in every attempt to reach the main area they suspect may contain Great Whites - around the Monach Isles off Uist.

But now the man who led that search is seeking £8,000 sponsorship to carry out another investigation

Richard Peirce, chairman of the Shark Conservation Society and the Shark Trust, is convinced that Great Whites are "occasional vagrants" in Hebridean waters and believes the conditions down the west coast of Scotland are perfect for the species.

Speaking from South Africa where he is chairing a TV debate on sharks, Mr Peirce said he had earmarked the new hunt for September 2016 to coincide with the seal pupping season - which he believes is a prime food source that attracts Great Whites.

But the records of tuna being caught off the Outer Hebrides for the last two years will increase the chances of finding Jaws.

American fishing expert Fred Lavitman last year landed a 500lb tuna aboard Harris skipper Angus Campbell's Orca 111 - filmed for a top US fishing channel watched by 39 million viewers - after he admitted he did not at first believe the stories of the species turning up in Scottish Waters.

Now the hunt for Great Whites is set to follow.

"My research indicates we get occasional vagrant visitors, but we may get a few more following prey species and Great Whites prey on tuna. It may help bring some more across the Atlantic," said Mr Peirce.

"I am very keen to come back to the Outer Hebrides. The presence of prey species will always sooner or later result in the presence of predators.

"On the surface, the conditions are perfect down the west coast for the occasional vagrant visiting Great White.

"In fact one of the things I want to research during the planned trip are the marine conditions to see why we are not getting more Great Whites - because as I say the conditions do appear perfect for them".

Dr Peter Richardson of the Marine Conservation Society has agreed that it is "not improbable" that Great Whites could visit the waters.