A dog walker caused alarm this morning after he reportedly caught a crocodile on camera swimming in the River Thames.
Chris Davies, 46, says he filmed the beast near Chelsea Harbour this morning and police were called to deal with the creature.
The clip shows what appears to be a crocodile’s head floating in the water.
Mr Davies, who works as a bond specialist in the property sector, said: ‘Two guys were looking at it as I walked towards them with my dog,’ according toThe Mirror.
‘One of them works for Chelsea Harbour Estate and said the police had been called.
‘It’s not a big one so I was amused more than anything else.’
But harbour master Colin Bullock, who was called in to deal with the mystery sighting, said: ‘It was just a pond ornament,’ according to the Evening Standard.
He added: ‘It was quite obviously a plastic item and I just got a net.
‘There was no reason to panic. We have had dolphins and porpoises before, but nothing like this.’
A dog walker has reportedly caught a crocodile on video swimming in the River Thames
An RSCPA spokeswoman earlier told MailOnline: ‘We haven’t received any calls to our emergency hotline about a crocodile in the River Thames, however we have seen a video circulating on social media.
‘It would be very unusual for a crocodile to be living in the River Thames and it’s difficult to tell from the video if it’s real or not.
‘We would encourage anyone who spots the crocodile to contact the police in the first instance.’
Chris Davies, 46, says he filmed the beast near Chelsea Harbour this morning and called police
The spokeswoman added: ‘Unfortunely this sort of thing is not completely unheard of.
‘We had a case previously where a caiman was dumped in a reservoir in Bristol.
‘It’s not illegal to own crocodiles as pets in the UK under licence so there’s a chance this one in the Thames was abandoned by its owner.
‘This is a very strange case and we of course would discourage owners from abandoning pet crocodiles in this way.’
Harbour master Colin Bullock, who was called in to deal with the mystery sighting, said: ‘It was just a pond ornament.’ Pictured, the exclusive Chelsea Harbour
In August, stunned water officials discovered an alligator basking in the sun on the side of an English lake.
The hissing reptile – which was two feet long – was spotted clambering out of the water at Chew Valley reservoir in Somerset.
Staff at Bristol Water caught the alligator with a net before putting it in a box while waiting for a member of the RSPCA to collect it.
