An angler choked to death on a fish after he made a bizarre bet with friends that he would hold it between his teeth.

The man was fishing with friends on a beach in Icapui, in Brazil's northeastern state of Ceara, when he reeled in a sole fish, local police said.

As part of a bizarre bet with friends, he put the fish between his teeth briefly.

However, the slippery sole, wriggled from between his teeth and slipped down his throat and became lodged in his windpipe.

The man, despite choking, managed to drive to a hospital two miles away.

He arrived at 11am on Sunday, but collapsed and died before the doctors could remove the fish.

Icapui’s police chief Carlos Alberto said medics eventually removed the fish but it was too late.

He said: “It was a silly thing to do, but he didn’t deserve to die because of it.