Crocodile 'spotted in the Thames'

A retired university lecturer says he got the shock of his life when he spotted a 4ft crocodile in the River Thames.

Cyclist Richard Smith, 64, claims he saw the reptile swimming along the river at Reading, Berkshire, reports the Daily Telegraph.

He said: "I was cycling on my own and I saw what I thought was a bough of a tree with four stubby branches on it close in to the bank.

"As I got closer I saw it was a crocodile. It was about 4ft long. It had a 2ft tail and 2ft body.

"I got off my bike and ran back to where it was, but it had gone. I ran along the river for about 50 yards, but it wasn't there any more."

He came forward with his sighting, from June last year, after a tackle shop worker claimed to have also seen the beast.

Mr Smith added: "The man in the shop said he was on the bank of the Thames near Tilehurst station and he saw a fully grown swan pulled down into the water and it totally disappeared."