The Lincolshire Echo has reported on an ornamental fish that had a lucky escape after a being found gasping in a field after being dropped from the sky by a heron.

Dog walker Kate Delph was walking her dog in Hartsholme park when she stumbled across the seven-inch long creature - nicknamed Freddie - gasping in the field.

It's believed he was on his way to being a lunchtime snack when he fell from the air.

Thanks to Kate's quick-thinking, the fish survived and is back out in open water - though it could have met a very grisly end.

"I looked down and the poor thing was still breathing," she said. "He is an amazing little fighter. I have never heard of anything like this before. It was definitely an adventure for him."

After discovering the creature – which may have been an ornamental fish from a nearby garden – she rushed to a shop to grab a bucket of water.

She rang a local expert at the Maidenhead Aquatics store in Whisby Garden Centre - who advised her to get it back to freshwater as soon as possible - and returned the fish to a waterway.

Maidenhead Aquatics sales adviser Ian Taylor, who spoke to Kate about rescuing Freddie, said fish found in fields normally died before being gobbled up by local animals.

But given the lack of obvious injuries, he said it was unlikely a cat had grabbed it.

"Usually with incidents like this, it is a heron and they have taken it back to feed their young. Something must have startled them and they dropped it," he said.

But it would only have made a snack – as herons are known to snatch up to 20 fish at a time from local waters.

See the full story at:  www.lincolnshireecho.co.uk