Police called as 'crocodile' spotted lurking in the Thames

A dog walker caused panic this morning after filming what appeared to be a crocodile swimming down the Thames.

Chris Davies, 46, captured what seemed to be a reptile floating above the water near Chelsea Harbour this morning.

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.

He told The 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 sighting, confirmed that it was a pond ornament that had somehow made its way down the Thames.

“It was quite obviously a plastic item and I just got a net,” he told the Evening Standard.

“There was no reason to panic. We have had dolphins and porpoises before, but nothing like this.”

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “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. We are happy to provide animal welfare advice, if necessary, if the animal does turn out to be real.”

Although this turned out to be a false alarm, there were persistent rumours about a crocodile in the river Avon.

In June 2014 a jogger spotted what appeared to the reptile’s head bobbing above the surface, following similar sightings in February that year.

A few years later a caiman turned up in a nearby reservoir and was removed by the RSPCA.

In August, an alligator was found near the Chew Valley reservoir in Somerset. A video appeared of the creature hissing at passersby.

John Harris, fisheries and recreation officer with Bristol Water, said: “One of our engineers spotted it bathing in the sun.

“We went down there and caught it and put it in a container. We think it’s an alligator.