Watch: Rare otter sighting in town

A woman who spotted an otter running along a stream said she was "surprised" because she thought initially it was just a dog.

Chan Rhonda, from Bicester in Oxfordshire spotted the otter running along a stream in the town.

She quickly caught it on camera and uploaded it to social media where the post has had more than 200 comments of "astonishment".

Julia Lofthouse from Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) said: "It was a good spot."

Ms Rhonda, who is from Hong Kong originally, said: "I'm not used to seeing a lot of wildlife."

She told BBC Radio Oxford: "I was at the stream near where I live when I saw a gentleman and thought that it was his dog that had jumped into the stream.

"I asked the gentleman nearby - is that your dog and he told me it was an otter."

Mammal project manager at BBOWT, Julia Lofthouse, explained that it was unusual to see otters pottering about in Bicester.

She said: "If we go back, otters were actually on the verge of extinction in England in the late 70s.

"They are a great conservation success story, as they've recovered and spread out we've had increasing sightings of them all along our waterways, including in more built-up areas such as Bicester.

"It was a really good spot as it is not common to see an otter."