Fishier and fishier... Now boat captain voices doubts over shark couple's 'ordeal'

Richard Neely, 38, and his American girlfriend Allyson Dalton, 40, survived 19 hours in shark-infested waters floating off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

They managed to get over the trauma that would have accompanied such an ordeal by selling their story to a newspaper within hours of being rescued.

Good story: Scuba divers Richard Neeley and Allyson Dalton are interviewed on the NBC "Today" television program, in New York this morning

It has been suggested the couple should contribute to the costs of the rescue, which involved seven helicopters, three planes and six boats.

And conflicting accounts of the incident have further muddied the waters.

Sailing and scuba diving company OzSail today hit back at claims the couple made in an Australian television interview that the boat crew weren't looking 'in the right direction'.

Diving buddies: Richard Neely and girlfriend Allyson Dalton three days before being stranded off the Australia's Great Barrier Reef for 19 hours

In a statement OzSail said: 'The dive brief for the dive from which Allyson and Richard failed to return included strict and specific instruction from the dive instructor not to leave Gary's Lagoon.

'Allyson and Richard did not remain on the dive site. Allyson and Richard did not follow the clear instructions of the dive instructor. Allyson and Richard did not surface immediately upon leaving Gary's Lagoon.'

The operator said the couple was told to inflate their safety sausage - which is visible up to one nautical mile (1,852m) away - if they found themselves out of the Lagoon.

The couple have said they surfaced just 200m away but out of sight of the crew.

Smiling: Wrapped in tinfoil in the helicopter, they are flown to dry land

OzSail said their boat 'instigated a full and proper search... in accordance with dive protocols and dive industry standards' and that emergency services were alerted within one hour.

The controversy all began with a few whisperings on the internet. As Mr Neely and Miss Dalton were closeted with an agent considering offers for the film and magazine rights to the story, bloggers speculated that the couple had faked their ordeal.

Some claimed it was 'suspicious' that they wore full-length thick wetsuits with hoods in the tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef while other divers in their group were understood to be in lighter gear.

Drama: Seven helicopters spent the night searching for the couple until they were eventually spotted and winched to safety

Others accused them of deliberately swimming outside the area designated by the dive boat's skipper. They were found nine miles from the site.

Last night, in a paid-for interview on Australian TV, Mr Neely, 38, and Miss Dalton, 40, had the chance to confront their critics.

Asked how they felt 'when you hear claims that you two are lying and that you set this up', Mr Neely, originally from Swaffham in Norfolk but now a diving instructor in Thailand, said: 'To me, that is very, very painful. I want to tell everybody that this is not true. I just hope people believe us.'

Miss Dalton told interviewer Tracey Grimshaw: 'My integrity has been questioned. My honesty. . . it's extremely important to me.'

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's top diving spots

Despite their distress over the allegations, the couple refused to be cowed - and were last night heading to the U.S. with their agent for more TV appearances.

They said they surfaced 200m from the moored boat when diving at the weekend.

But choppy waters made it impossible for them to swim to it. Despite their efforts to attract attention, stormy conditions meant they could not alert the crew.

Seven helicopters, three planes and six boats were involved in a search operation that cost tens of thousands of pounds - and after 19 hours, they were spotted.

The couple have offered to contribute towards rescue costs and say their insurance should cover it.

Some remain unconvinced by their story. One blogger wrote: 'Still something fishy here, sorry. Anyway, there should be a happy ending as there will be plenty of cash to pay for the rescue costs.'