(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-02-22 15:02

A giant snakehead, a fearsome predator of a fish usually found in the fresh waters of South East Asia and India, has been hooked by an angler from a river in England, media reported Thursday.

A giant snakehead, a fearsome predator of a fish usually found in the fresh waters of South East Asia and India, has been hooked by an angler from a river in England. [Agencies]

Andy Alder from Lincoln claimed to have captured the 60 cm long predator while using a sprat as bait on the River Witham near North Hykeham, Lincolnshire, England.

The creature, boasting a large mouthful of sharp teeth, usually preys on other fish.

The discovery sparked fears in the tabloid newspapers that the "savage fish" which has "even been reported to kill people" could start to breed in UK waters, as one member of the family has done in the United States.

However, the Environment Agency tried to allay the fears, saying the species of Channidae would stand little chance of surviving a winter in the East Midlands.

"We do not think that it is breeding there, and we do not plan to go and electrofish the area and look for any others," the spokesman of the agency was quoted as saying.