Rochdale chef saves rare blue lobster from cooking pot

Chef Austin Hopley said he "could not bring himself" to put the blue lobster on the menu

A rare blue lobster has been saved from the boiling pot and given a new home at an aquarium.

The crustacean was found by chef Austin Hopley in a delivery to his restaurant in Littleborough, Greater Manchester.

He said he "could not bring himself" to put the shellfish on the menu and instead called Sea Life Manchester.

The chef, who named the creature Larry, said he wanted to find it a "forever home that was not in a lobster roll".

'Extraordinary find'

Bright blue lobsters are so-coloured because of a genetic abnormality that causes them to produce more of a certain protein than others.

The odds of finding lobsters with a bright-blue pigment are estimated to be one in two million.

After making the discovery, Mr Hopley said: "I knew the morally right thing to do was to find him a home where everybody could appreciate him."

The rare crustacean was found in a restaurant delivery

"I've never seen anything like it," the chef at the Hare on the Hill restaurant said.

"It puts into perspective the reality that most of us do not actually understand and know where our produce comes from.

"Every species deserves a fair chance at survival," said Mr Hopley, who has since removed all lobster from his menu.

A marine expert from Sea Life Manchester transported the creature to the aquarium.

Curator Brendan Malone said: "It is certainly an extraordinary find and worth saving to try to educate the public about these amazing creatures in the ecosystem."

Larry will be cared for privately before being placed into a public tank.

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