A normal family outing took a surprising turn when a five-year-old caught a seahorse while crab fishing.

On Tuesday, June 11, dad Nathan Falla took his two children – Theo, five, and Finley, seven months – and his partner Rachel to Manor Farm to go crab fishing.

Trying to make the most of the nice weather, the family enjoyed the late afternoon sun before five-year-old Theo spotted something in the water he will never forget.

The rare find in question (Image: Nathan Falla) “He saw something in the water and almost immediately knew it was something special,” said Nathan.

“At first I thought it was seaweed and didn’t think anything of it but then I realised it was a seahorse bobbing along – we’d never actually seen one in the wild before, so it was quite surreal.”

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(Image: Nathan Falla)

Upon realising it was a seahorse in the water, Theo managed to catch the fish and see it up close in his net.

It also proved to be a whopper, with native UK species normally reaching a top end of 17cm long.

Nathan said: “We definitely weren’t expecting that – to see it so closely was really impressive.

“We measured it and found it was about 20cm long in length, but we didn’t want to keep it in the net for too long so returned it back to the water.”

Nathan – a keen freshwater fisherman – is hoping to pass on his passion for fishing to his children and thinks Theo in particular will now have the bug after his latest catch.

“I’ve been going fishing for years, so I don’t think he’ll have too much choice, but it was certainly a special moment and something I’m sure he’ll remember for quite a while yet.

“We do like to go crab fishing – it’s not something we’re able to do all the time – but when the weather is nice, we try and find the time.

“It’s something the whole family can do and enjoy together.”

There are two native seahorse species in the UK, according to the Wildlife Trust - the short snouted seahorse and the long snouted seahorse.