A team in Western Australia have been working on designs for the shark-proof wetsuit and hop to have a prototype ready by next year.

According to research by the University of Western Australia, sharks are colour blind. Despite relying heavily on their sights, the creatures are unable to differentiate between colours and see things in shades of grey.

The idea behind the shark-repelling wetsuit is that it will make its wearer look unappetising to predators.

"Poisonous if you like, or unattractive to the shark, somewhat like a sea snake," Professor Shaun Collin said.

"To design a wet suit that is not attractive to sharks, using a model which takes into account the different light levels that sharks move through and different seasons of the year and different times of the day."

It’s not the first time someone has tried to develop a shark-proof wetsuit. There have been previous experiments integrating Neptech chain mail into wetsuits in an attempt to make them withstand the bite of a shark.