If this doesn’t put you off swimming in Hollingworth Lake, nothing will.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, this huge creature – dubbed the Roch Ness Monster – was found washed up on the shores of the Littleborough lake on Sunday afternoon.
Rather than an unknown species of prehistoric reptile, it’s thought that the five foot-long creature could be a huge pike, with a fearsome set of teeth to match.
Adele Battersby, 45, stumbled across the creature she walked by the lake with daughter Maiya, seven.
Pike are stocked in the lake along with perch, roach and bream for coarse fishing.
Adele, who lives nearby in Littleborough, said: “It was just lying washed up on the muddy sand half way round Hollingworth Lake.
“I had no idea anything so big lived in the lake.
“It was a little scary for my seven-year-old daughter who has enjoyed paddling in there previously.
“She thought it was a large python at first bless her. I thought a baby crocodile.
“I’ve since been informed by many on Facebook that pikes are nothing to be afraid of but those teeth looked scary enough for me.
“It was like something prehistoric.”
And sales executive Jonny Beckett, 32, was walking with his girlfriend Suzanne when he also caught sight of the gruesome remains.
And after posting his image of the sunken-eyed creature online, the pictures caused a huge stir on the internet.
Jonny told the MEN: “I saw it washed up at Hollingworth Lake near Rochdale yesterday while walking around with Suzanne.
“I guessed it was 5 foot or so it looked huge when looking at it. Very scary looking thing and yes, awful smell with flies swarming about it.”
The huge beast still had a mouth full of teeth and hollowed out eye sockets.
Danny Connor, 24, was out on an afternoon walk with his girlfriend when he spotted the jurassic-looking corpse.
Intrigued by what it could be, the couple clambered down a bank to take a closer look and were soon shocked by what they saw... and smelt.
Danny, who works as an extra on television soaps, said: “When we got closer I got this funny feeling in my stomach.
“It looked like some weird ancient monster. It was massive too. I put my foot next to it and took a photo to show the scale of it.
“I’m a size 11 so it must be at least 4 foot. It had this horrible smell too. It was making us wretch.”
The online images have sparked a debate on whether the creature was an ancient beast or just a dead pike.
Some users are adamant that the beast is the corpse of a pike but others are not convinced and have vowed to steer clear of the lake.
Pikes are regularly found in the 130-acre reservoir and have been known to grow to more than 4ft.
Famously aggressive, the predator can grow up to 150cm long and up to 25kg in weight.
While normally feeding on smaller fish species, pikes are even known to turn on each other when food is scarce.
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