Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 'led to Cardiff lake influx'

A Welsh park is not necessarily a natural home for terrapins.

But it seems the reptiles were dumped in Roath Park during the 1990s after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon soared in popularity.

"Everybody was so hyped up over the ninja turtles that they decided to go out and buy a little turtle," said park ranger Gareth Stamp.

"At the start of the early 90s was when they ended up being dumped into lakes - not just across Cardiff, probably across the whole of the UK."

Mr Stamp estimated about 15 of the terrapins from the 1990s still live wild in the park's lake.

RSPCA Cymru said releasing unwanted exotic pets into the wild was "cruel and illegal".