AN angler on holiday caught more than he bargained for when he went out for a day's fishing.

Malcolm Roberts, from Dagenham, Essex, was on the Looe boat Mystique 11, skippered by local boatman David Bond, when he landed a mature thresher shark.

The shark, measuring 12ft 6in with a girth of 60in and weighing approximately 324lb, was released back into the sea soon after being caught.

Hilary Casson, secretary of the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain, which has its headquarters in Looe, said blue sharks are regularly caught, tagged and released from the port's waters.

However, this was the first time since the 1960s that a thresher shark had been caught in the area on a rod and line.

The thresher, more commonly found off the coast of Asia and North America, is one of the slowest sharks in the water. It is said to be named after its very long tail, which scientific study has shown is used to stun prey. It is on the red list of vulnerable shark species.