THERE have been some strange things lurking in the depths of the East Okement, but this week, three men working on the river discovered what could be the strangest — if not the most ferocious — yet.

The men, Enviroment Agency fisheries specialists, were amazed after finding an extremely rare killer piranha fish in the East Okement tributary of the River Torridge near Okehampton.

The dead fish was spotted during a sampling trip on the river, while agency staff Bob Collett, Dave Hoskin and Eddie Stevens were preparing to carry out a survey using electric fishing equipment.

At 35cm long, the piranha is commonly found within the Amazon River basin in South American, and is the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world, infamous for its razor sharp teeth. The piranha has a reputation as a fearless fish who hunts its prey in ferocious packs.

Fish species commonly found in the river include salmon, brown trout and possibly other species such as bullheads, stone loach and minnow.

Eddie Stevens said: 'What we actually discovered was something we would not expect to find in our wildest dreams.

'We could hardly believe our eyes.

'After completing 20 metres of the survey a large tail emerged from the undercut bank on the far side of the river.

'Our first thought was that a sea trout had become lodged in among the rocks and debris collected under the bank.

'But when it was removed from the river we were speechless to find it was a piranha.'

An autopsy found that the fish had been eating sweetcorn, which proved that it had been kept as a domestic pet.

In shoals the piranha ambushes its prey, stripping the flesh off large animals such as anacondas or even jaguars within minutes.

They have also been known to attack humans, devouring the flesh and leaving no trace. 

The average size of the red bellied Piranha Pygocentrus Natteren is 15-20 cm, making the fish found on the East Okement an exceptional size.

Piranhas are found only in the Amazon basin, in the Orinoco, and in rivers of the Guyanas.

Dave Hoskin, environmental monitoring officer, said: 'I would say the piranha was most likely to have been placed in the river once the fish became too large for its tank, and was found dead as the fish could not tolerate the conditions in the water.

'Illegal fish movements like this can have a devastating affect on the natural environment.'

The fearsome fish is not the only exotic creature to have found itself in the Okement.

County councillor Christine Marsh, founder of the Okehampton Rivers Improvement Group which has done so much to clear up the river and banks of the East and West Okement, said she was surprised to hear of a dead piranha being found on the river — but then perhaps not!

She said: 'I remember in March 2007 when a dead boa constrictor was found in the same river.

'It is a bit different, we normally find things like old washing machines and all sorts such as car parts and abandoned televisions.' 

Paul Gainey for the Environment Agency had some advice for pet owners of exotic creatures.

'While piranhas can't survive the colder climates of the UK, this latest find highlights a real issue — that releasing unwanted exotic pets or plants into rivers can have serious consequences for native wildlife.

'Rather than dumping things in the wild, we would urge people to seek advice about what to do with exotic species,' he said.