A police appeal over the discovery of a "dumped crocodile" by a canal turned out to be "more fluff than fear". Derbyshire Police launched a snappy appeal on Thursday - its "strangest ever"- after the alleged sighting on the Trent and Mersey Canal, near Mercia Marina, in Willington. But the mystery creature turned out to be a stuffed taxidermy model, filled with hay, not a real reptile, and was reeled in by a fisherman. While there were no crocodile tears in sight, police joked on Friday: "It's not every day we get to say 'we've dealt with a crocodile in Derbyshire!'"

Source: The Times October 18, 2025 06:02 UTC