Super-rare orange lobsters rescued from Leicester shop display

The rare lobsters were spotted by a quick-witted shopper

Two ultra-rare bright orange lobsters are starting a new life at an aquarium after they were nearly sold for food at a cash-and-carry store.

The snappy pair were spotted in a lobster tank at Makro in Leicester by a shopper and former fishmonger, who alerted staff to how rare they were.

Shop staff pulled them from sale and arranged for them to be moved to Birmingham's National Sea Life Centre.

The centre said only about one in 30 million lobsters share their colour.

Natalie Emmerson, from the centre, said the curiously-coloured crustaceans would have been caught in Canada or the US and shipped to the UK.

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"They've come quite a long way to get to Leicester in the first place," she said.

"This is an unusual genetic mutation - they think it's about one in 30 million you would find one - so the fact they've had two at the same fish counter is really unusual.

"I think it's just by chance the gentleman who spotted them used to be a fishmonger, so he was aware of how unusual it is for them to be this colour."

Aquarium staff have invited the public to submit name suggestions

Ms Emmerson said the lobsters were in good health but could not be released into the sea in the UK as they are a non-native species.

She added if they were taken back to North America, their bright colour would make them vulnerable to predators.

Instead they will become residents at the sea life centre, where they are likely to become tank-mates with rays following a short quarantine period.

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