An amateur fisherman has landed a whopping 180lb albino catfish while on holiday in Spain.

Joseph Madigan, 26, from Wallington, wrestled with the 8 ft beast for half an hour in the Ebro river, not far from Barcelona.

The fish is understood to be one of the biggest albino catfish ever caught in Europe. Mr Madigan, a security officer at Gatwick, was on holiday with his uncle, a keen fisherman, when he landed the catch of his life.

He said: "My uncle was ok about it, he caught a 150lb catfish in the same week so we both came home happy."

The world record weight for an albino catfish, was set in 2011, on the same stretch of river, when a 194lbs beast was landed by plucky Chris Grimmer from Sheffield.