A BLACKBURN angler had a big surprise when he was joined on a day’s fishing on the Ribble - by a pelican.

Ian Reid, of Heys Lane, was astonished to find he had a new companion as he fished near to the Tickled Trout Hotel at Samlesbury, back in 2006.

Mr Reid was surprised as the large bird was happy to sit by him on the bank.

He said: “It was just waiting for me to catch stuff and then I was feeding it fish while it sat by the side of me. It had its bill on my knee, I couldn’t believe it.”

His father Eric, 78, was in disbelief when his son told him what he saw.

He said: “I couldn’t believe it when Ian told me. I’ve been fishing for over 60 years and I’ve never heard of anything such as this before.”

Pelicans are usually found in warmer climates such as the Mediterranean and wildlife experts believed that this pelican had escaped from a wildlife sanctuary, possibly in Germany or Holland.

John Marchant of the British Trust for Ornithology said: “It is rare to see pelicans in the UK. There are two or three in the country at the moment but there haven’t been any recorded for the last eight to 10 years.”

The Ribble pelican was believed to have headed off to Northumberland.