A Suffolk fisherman thought he would need a bigger boat when he caught a giant six-foot lobster off Sizewell.

The collosol crustacean is thought to have been lurking beneath the waves for around 80 years before wrapping itself around one of Steve Walsh’s lobster pots.

“I thought the pot was snagged on something because it took some hauling up,” said Steve, 43.

“I had to use my mechanical winch; imagine my surprise when this giant lobster came up.

“He was so big that one snip of his giant claws could have taken my arm off.”

Steve sought help from other fishermen nearby to land the giant lobster, believed to be the biggest ever caught in the UK. They put ropes around the claws to prevent serious injury.

They dubbed the lobster ‘Claws’ and put him on the beach to measure him and estimate his weight.

But Claws is not destined for restaurant cooking pots around Suffolk. Steve decided to put him back in his home below the North Sea. He will miss out on thousands of pounds from the seafood market, but believes it was the right thing to do.

“Something this old and beautiful deserves to live out its days in peace, where it belongs.”

However, local mum Lorraine Fisher, 34, is worried about letting her children paddle on the beach in the Sizewell area.

“With this thing around, there could be an unfortunate incident.

“Do lobsters eat human flesh?”

Experts say Claws may have grown so large thanks to nutrients and food in the warm waters created by the Sizewell B nuclear power station.

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