TERRY the terrapin is heading for a new home . . . after an enterprising fishery bailiff put a bounty on the greedy freshwater tortoise which was scoffing valuable carp in a Fylde lake.

Anglers visiting Greenhalgh Lodge fishery, near Kirkham, couldn't believe their eyes when the hulking amphibian cheekily chomped on fish which cost a packet to buy.

And the final straw came when the unwanted guest signalled his contempt for all and sundry by sunbathing on an island opposite the best hotspots.

But the saga turned turtle when crafty Bart Briggs, of Blackpool, spotted the TERRORpin snoozing one afternoon on the bankside - and quickly despatched him to an impromptu home - an old oil drum.

And your caring Citizen got in on the act by helping to find a new home for Terry . . . with the Terrapin Rescue Service, based in Manchester.

Bart told the Citizen: "We first became aware of Terry last summer. It appears his owner became disinterested in him and tipped him into the lake.

"He was tiny when we first spotted him, but during the months he's packed on weight and is now almost a foot long and must weigh a couple of pounds."

"I decided to put up a poster to alert anglers. It read, 'Wanted Alive: Terrapin' and we offered three free day's fishing at Greenhalgh as an incentive to the captor to hand Terry over.

"We'll be sad to see him go, but he was costing a fortune eating carp which cost us a lot to buy in."

A terrapin expert at a local pet shop was amazed that Terry had managed to survive the rigours of a British winter.

He said: "Terrapins are from North America and are more used to water temperatures of seventy five to eighty degrees fahrenheit.

"This creature has done well to survive. It must have been a cold and lonely Christmas for him."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.