A Thai fisherman was stunned after catching a rare alligator fish more than 9,000 miles away from its native habitat.

Noppadon Pumcharoen, 46, hauled ashore the alligator gar - normally found in the Mississippi River - from a stream near his home in Chachoengsao, Thailand last Friday (August 30) morning.

The fisherman was surprised by the 3ft long alien species which had a snout and sharp teeth like those of an alligator.

He said: "I gathered the fish in the morning after the rain but caught this beast instead. I think the selfish owner might live nearby and released it because he was bored.

"I will keep it in my pool while waiting for the authorities to take it because releasing it back to the river might be dangerous to the other fish and locals.''

The torpedo-shaped alligator is one of the world's largest freshwater carnivore fish and its natural habitat is in the southern part of North America.

Many are found in the Mississippi River, which is some 9,000 miles from Thailand.

Noppadon said he will keep the fish in his garden pot because he doesn't want to release it back into the river.

He said: ''It's quite lucky that I caught the fish. Now it won't do any more damage to the other creatures in the river.''