Huge ‘duck-eating’ catfish removed from lake at Lakeside Shopping Centre after traumatised children spot it devouring birds

A HUGE catfish has been pulled from a lake after leaving children traumatised when they spotted it eating ducks.

The rogue fish – weighing in at 25 pounds – was caught by the Environment Agency after terrified members of the public complained.

Fisheries officers removed the fish from the man-made lake outside the Lakeside shopping centre in Thurrock, Essex.

Ben Norrington, a fisheries officer, said: “It’s not great for kids to see these large fish eating the ducks, so we removed this large catfish.”

He added: “Large fish have the potential to eat wildfowl so we’re pleased we could remove it.

“Invasive species pose a serious threat to our native wildlife and cost the UK economy a massive £1.8 billion a year.”

And while the fish had reportedly got the taste for ducks, catfish are known to eat other fish, algae, and even rodents and frogs.

The fish has now been rehomed.

Catfish can grow up to astounding sizes – with some known to exceed 2.5m.

The species are not native to Britain.

There are now plans to hold fishing competitions at the lake in the future, to help reduce the population.

The Environment Agency is currently working through waters were non-native fish could escape into rivers and endanger Britain’s local wildlife.

It comes after an enormous shark was found with its head bitten off on Australia’s coast.

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