A terrifying-looking rare fish found washed up on British beach a staggering 9,000 miles from its home by couple paddling in the sea.
Katrina Ashmore and Paul Ashurst were on a staycation in Devon when they spotted the fish bobbing up and down in the waves before it settled on the beach.
The angler fish is normally found half a mile underwater in the Pacific Ocean, so it is unclear how it ended up on the UK coastline.
The pair thought the deep-sea monster was a turtle or even an old rucksack, before dad-of-one Paul flipped it over, cutting his hands on hundreds of razor-sharp teeth.
The couple spotted the adapted dorsal fin which emits a luminescent light to catch other fish.
Paul, 43, and Katrina, 41, left the beast, which was dead, to be reclaimed by the tide and continued their weekend break with Paul’s son Lucas Ashurst, 13, in Salcombe.
The family, from Doncaster, Yorkshire, said they felt lucky to have seen the amazing creature.
Katrina said: "It was the most amazing experience.
“I just kept watching it, wondering what it was.
“We didn’t realise it was upside down, then we flipped it and saw all these teeth and the dangly thing like a fishing rod.
“It was so big - easily twice the size of a football.
“A woman told us what kind of fish it was, and then I saw one had washed up in California, and it’s the exact same fish.”
Electrical-engineer Paul said: “The teeth were like razor blades, I hardly touched it and I got these deep cuts all over my hands.
“I kept washing them in the sea but they wouldn’t stop bleeding.
“Not many people can say they’ve been bitten by one of those: I feel very privileged.”
