A TIVERTON man was warned he could face a fine of thousands of pounds unless he kills a crayfish he rescued from the street in Tiverton.

In recent weeks, crayfish have become a familiar sight around the town leat in the centre of Tiverton, but due to sewerage work drying up the leat, the crustaceans began turning up in other places throughout the town centre.

Tiverton man Vic Garland spotted one of the tiny crayfish stranded on the pavement outside WH Smith and Pack's at the corner of Fore Street.

He picked it up and took it to his Harrowby Close home, where he kept the two-inch long crayfish, which he nicknamed Sid Vicious, in a fish tank.

But the creature he rescued was a red clawed American signal crayfish, which has endangered the native white-clawed species and is one of the least popular visitors to these shores.

After being advised by a friend that it was illegal to keep such a fish, Vic rang the Environment Agency and said he was advised to kill it and told if he did not, he could face a hefty fine.

Vic said: "The person I spoke to told me to put it on the floor and stamp on it, alternatively I could put it in the freezer, let it go into hibernation and then dispatch it in the same way."

American signal crayfish first arrived in UK rivers in the 1970s after escaping from fish farms. They threaten the white-clawed crayfish by out-competing them for food and habitat.

They carry a fungal disease — crayfish plague — which can kill the native population. They also cause damage to riverbanks by deep burrowing and can reduce fish stocks by eating fish eggs. They are active during the summer and hibernate in winter, usually in burrows in riverbanks.

It is illegal to keep non-native crayfish even as pets in England and Wales, except with a licence.

Anyone who sees signal crayfish should not attempt to re-introduce them back into water, as their actions could further undermine the rare native species.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "Whenever the non-native American signal crayfish are caught or found, it is illegal to re-introduce them into native waters.

"It is also illegal to trap or handle the native white-clawed crayfish.

"American signal crayfish are listed under Schedule 9 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence to release them into the wild."