If you read about a 70lb plus carp you would probably expect it to come from Eastern Europe or maybe France. But this one came out of Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire.

However, captor Martyn Lowe has decided not to try and take his place in the British record books after landing the mighty 71-pounder. The current British record stands at 68lb 1oz, the famously named The Parrot caught from the Wasing Estate in 2016 by Dean Fletcher.

Martyn has decided not to go through the record claiming procedure following the rejection by the BRFC committee of 69lb 10oz Holme Fen fish called Captain Jack last year on the grounds that it had been stocked at too high a weight.

Martyn’s is a different fish, and was stocked at a much lower weight than the 69-pounder. But he’s sticking to his guns. Captain Jack was stocked at over 40lb. Martyn’s fish at under 16lb in 2013. It may have been accepted, had he claimed, but we will never know.

Unless of course he changes his mind…. The BRFC have said that if he does submit a claim, it will be reviewed fairly on its own merits.