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British fisherman have landed a record-breaking eel which measures a whopping 20ft long - taller than a double decker bus.

The giant conger - which weighed 131lb (59.5kg) after it was gutted - was caught off Plymouth in Devon.

It was accidentally snared in the nets of a trawler and a picture of the giant sea monster hanging up was posted on Facebook.

(Image: SWNS)

The caption read: "Conger 130lb gutted landed in Plymouth market this morning! What a Beast."

Fisherman Vic Evans held the previous world record for his Conger Eeel, caught six miles of Brixham, Devon, whilst fishing from his own vessel Sea Spray.

It was caught on a wreck in 1995 and weight 133lbs 4oz before it was gutted.

(Image: SWNS)

But the new whopper - with guts - would have weighed about 155lbs to 160lbs.

The conger eel landed at Plymouth Fisheries was caught by the inshore trawler 'Hope'.

Pete Bromley, manager of Plymouth Fisheries, said: "This conger eel is a very large fish, and an unusual catch for a trawler, with the current rod-caught record standing at 133lb 4oz."

(Image: SWNS)

"Conger move to very deep water and die after spawning, so like all large congers caught off the South West approaches, this fish is likely to be an unspawned female.

"These large eels are generally found hiding in the many wrecks around the South West, or on reefs and rocky ground, but they do venture out to open ground in search of food, usually during neap tides or slack water.

"Despite their size and power, they are not very strong swimmers."