Jaws... in Doncaster
Anglers trap two killer piranhas in lake popular with families... as ducks start vanishing
‘Wouldn’t catch me going in the water’
IT is normally home to nothing more ferocious than the odd pike.
So when ducks began vanishing from a lake near Doncaster, locals started wondering if something more sinister lurked beneath its placid surface.
And their fears were confirmed when fishermen hauled out two deadly piranhas.
The flesh-eating fish, which have rows of razor-sharp teeth and normally live in the Amazon, were discovered at Martinwells Lake in Edlington, South Yorkshire – a popular children’s paddling spot.
Toni Hooper, a full-time mother from Doncaster, said: We came here to feed the ducks and on Sunday we noticed there was only one duck and two ducklings.
‘I’m concerned about where the wildlife is. I’ve spoken to others who have said they’ve noticed there aren’t as many ducks.’
She said she and her partner, angler Gary Walker, found a dead piranha floating in the lake later that day. ‘When we realised what it was it sent shivers down my spine,’ she added. ‘This is a popular spot among families, dog walkers and fishermen.
‘There’s a play park nearby, so you get kids here paddling in the water, teenagers will go swimming here. You wouldn’t catch me going in the water.’
Miss Hooper, 32, took pictures of the piranha and reported it to the Environment Agency. Mr Walker, 34, often fishes at he former clay pit – which is usually well-stocked with carp, tench, bream, perch, roach, pike and chubb – but said his catches had reduced. Ducks, coots and water hens all live on the lake, and swans visit each year to raise their young.
Mother-of-three Lisa Holmes, 37, was shocked to find a piranha while walking with boyfriend Davey White, 37, and son Sonny, eight. She said: ‘My partner was looking around the edge of the lake when he suddenly spotted this fish floating near one of the pegs [fishing platforms].
‘He managed to get it out and although he’s a keen angler, he wasn’t sure what type of fish it was straight away. But then we started looking at it more closely and saw the teeth we realised it was a piranha. We went home and googled it and it’s quite clear it’s a piranha. It was quite a shock.
‘It’s not the kind of thing you expect to find in Doncaster. We presume it was a pet someone no longer wanted.’
Piranhas – often wrongly believed to be capable of stripping the flesh from cattle in seconds – have been found around the world after being released by irresponsible pet owners. They have been known to kill humans but attacks are rare and usually cause minor injuries. Splashing attracts them, so victims tend to be children.
In 2011, a drunk 18-year-old was eaten in Bolivia after he leapt into a river. A Brazilian girl aged five was killed by a shoal in 2015.
Gill Gillies, assistant director of environment at Doncaster Council, said it was ‘highly unlikely’ the piranhas were alive when they were dumped in the lake.