An Australian teenager who went for a swim Saturday and came out of the water with his feet and lower legs covered in blood says tiny marine creatures are to blame.

Sam Kanizay, speaking from a hospital bed, told local media he went waist-deep into the ocean at Brighton Beach in Melbourne after playing soccer, and emerged 30 minutes later to find his knee and ankles bleeding profusely.

“I walked out of the water, saw what I thought was sand covering my ankles and lower calf so I just shook it off quite violently, and it came off and by the time I walked across the sand, about 20 meters to put my thongs on, I looked down and noticed that I MORE