There's something fishy about this as monster eel scares city-centre shoppers

A monster from the deep lurks in the heart of one of Britain's great cities, terrifying the unwary who catch a glimpse of it deathly eyes staring from its icy bed.

Even with its razor-sharp teeth concealed in its closed jaws, the massive conger eel has been enough to give passers-by a scare in Manchester's Arndale Centre.

But there will be no Beowulf-style quest to kill the huge creature - the job has already been done.

The 7ft, 12-stone eel has pride of place on the stall of fishmonger Steve Williams.

It took three men to lift the enormous eel - landed by fishermen off Cornwall - out of its icebox when it arrived at Whales Fish and Poultry, Mr Williams' store in the shopping centre.

He said: "In 18 years I have never seen a monster this big. A lot of customers have actually been quite frightened by it."

Conger eels approaching 18 stone in weight have been caught by commercial fisherman off Britain's shores.

They are thought to migrate to the Sargasso Sea in the sub-tropical Atlantic to breed, spawning at depths of 10,000 to 12,000 feet.