Bottles and crisp packets are often dumped in a river, occasionally the odd trolley, but a catfish is a rare sight.

The fish was first spotted by people walking along Greggswood stream near Ashenden Walk and Home Farm Lane in Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday.

Estimated to be around 2.5ft long, nearby resident Paul Kent, believed it had died by the time he found it while walking his friend’s dog Chester.

He said: “I’ve come across footballs, even rubber ducks in that tiny stream before but I’ve never seen a fish of any size in that stream before in the 30 years I’ve lived there.

“I wasn’t sure what I was seeing when I came across it. Even the dog Chester did a double take.

“Due to the size I thought maybe it was a toy fish as how it became stranded there is a real surprise.

“I had a feeling it was a Catfish but absolutely no idea it was a tropical variety. It’s very sad that someone clearly dumped the fish either in the stream or Sherwood Lake with no hope of survival.

“Someone on Facebook thought there might be more in the Lake.

“It was still there yesterday afternoon but I wasn’t 100% sure it was the same one. I did report it to the Environment Agency who said they were going to recover the fish.”

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “We have received several reports of a dead catfish. We have identified the fish as a red tailed catfish, which is native to South America.

“Releasing any fish into the wild has the potential to cause massive ecological impacts, especially non-native species which could cause huge damage to the environment.

“We ask that people report any sightings or instances of this happening on our 24 / 7 incident line: 0800 807060, as it’s a serious offence due to the impact it could have on the river systems.”

The Redtail Catfish is often sold in aquatic shops and can grow very large and sometimes surprises owners when it outgrows its tank.

They are a fresh water, bottom-feeding, fish which grows to 3ft on average and live in warmer waters, preferably around 20-26 degrees.

The fish can be legally owned in the UK but needs a minimum tank size of around 1,500-2,000 gallons and it is suggested they are kept alone in their tank.