Fisherman finds 'vampire fish' in local river

Lampreys have rows of teeth to latch onto fish

A fisherman has found a lamprey - which is sometimes known as a "vampire fish" - almost 1m (3ft) long in the River Exe.

Jason Moore had been walking along the river in Devon looking for chub fishing spots but recognised the lamprey, which had already died, and fished it out because of the size of it.

He said: "They look a little bit frightening, something out of a sci-fi movie."

Lampreys, which are usually 30-50cm (12-20in) long, are often called vampire fish because they have rows of teeth to latch onto other fish and suck their blood.

Jason Moore says he put the lamprey back where he found it

"They're quite plentiful I believe in the River Exe, I've seen quite a lot of them, this is the upper regions of the Exe rather the tidal bit," Mr Moore said.

Lampreys have existed for more than 360 million years, according to National Geographic.

Mr Moore said it was the first one of its size that he had seen.

He said it put it back where he had found it because it was still part of the ecosystem.

"I assume there's other organisms in there which will eat it, devour it, and if its still got eggs in it it might still be viable, so I always put things exactly back where I found them," he added.