Novice ten-year-old angler Christopher Dunn astonished fellow fishermen when he caught a bream one-and-a-half feet long.

The youngster found the seven-and-a-half-pound fish so heavy that it took him almost an hour to haul it in.

And, when the fish appeared, he was relieved to find he had not snared a swan.

Christopher, of Gainsborough Green, Abingdon, said: "The other fishermen thought it must be a swan because of the weight of it. ..and so did I. It was very heavy. The others were very surprised by how big it was."

His proud mum Theresa said: "Christopher wouldn't let them pull it in for him. It must have been a real struggle for him but they told him if he could pull it in by himself, it would be amazing.

They said the fish was absolutely huge. It was about double the size of the average bream catch in that area."

Christopher had taken his new fishing rods and reels, a present for his birthday, down to the old gravel pits by the River Thames in Wilsham Road, Abingdon. He has spent much of his summer holidays in the same spot with a friend but decided to travel alone on this occasion.

His mum thinks it might prove impossible to keep him away from now on.

She said: "He also plays football for a team but it might be difficult to get him to put down his fishing rods and go along now!" His mum said she was delighted other anglers were there to witness the catch and that pictures were taken of her son with the fish. She said: "It would otherwise be very easy for a ten-year-old to come back and say he had caught a fish this size and no-one believe him."

The size of the catch, which was returned to the river after Christopher was pictured with it, was put into context by Oxford Mail fishing expert Jon Webb.

He said: "I am involved in a top fish competition at the moment, and the current one is 8lb 6 1/2oz. The bream you normally get in the waters in this part of the world are, on average, four pounders.

"So for a ten-year-old to catch one that weight is quite something. It is a big fish and he has done pretty well. It's a good way for him to christen his new rods!"

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