A NINE-year-old boy from Cricklade caught a huge 21 pound fish while on a fishing trip with his father near Latton.

Alex McGrath was thrilled when he bagged the whopper which weighed 21 pounds and 4 oz.

He said: “I really enjoy fishing, I like it a lot and I get really excited and a bit nervous when I catch a fish.”

His mum Helen Lidbury and his dad Andy McGrath were delighted with their little boy’s big catch.

Helen said: “We were super chuffed and he was so excited.

“He goes out to a lake near Cricklade every other afternoon and goes on fishing trips with his dad once a month.

“They went to Lake 300 near South Cerny on August 15 and had a really quiet morning, then Alex hooked a mirror carp.

“He could tell it was going to be quite a big one.

“It’s a massive personal best for him, it’s quite impressive.”.

Andy McGrath has gone on dozens of fishing trips with his son over the years.

Andy said: “I used to do it when I was little and now I’ve gotten back into it because of him.

“Alex has caught seven or eight pound carp at the South Cerny fishery but this year he wanted to catch bigger fish so we went to a lake one of the other fishermen recommended to us.

“This was our first attempt there, we went out on the lake at 10am and caught the fish at 2.30pm.

“The rod took off and Alex grabbed it, he almost got pulled in.

“He tried to reel it in while I set up the net and then he held the net open for me to put it in.

“Alex was incredibly pleased, he was over the moon, he never thought he’d catch a fish that big.”

Alex got hooked on fishing after his great-grandfather Donald Lidbury introduced him to the hobby when Alex was a toddler.

Helen added: “His great-grandfather used to be a big fisherman and he got Alex into it and taught him how to fish.

“When he moved away Alex carried on fishing and he loves it.

“Donald passed away on Wednesday morning but he was very proud of Alex, it’s quite poignant now.”

Andy added: “It’s something they had in common, he’s given Alex some of his long rods and they always loved talking to each other about fishing.

“He really liked the picture when we sent it to him.”