Underwater cam shows river giants

Swimmer films himself among huge catfish which can grow more than 2.5m long

A SWIMMER has posted his exploits among some of the Loire’s giant wels catfish.

Pierre-Alain Gillet filmed the footage during one of his regular swims in the Loire earlier this month.

Among the species he can be seen swimming past are carp, zanders and wels catfish - the largest freshwater fish in Europe.

Copying the stunt is not recommended as the catfish can become aggressive when they sense danger and can weigh around 50-65kg - although reports of them attacking humans are extremely rare and usually linked to them being fished out of the water.

Earlier this month a French fisherman claimed to have set a new world record, certainly a record for France, when he landed a 2.73m catfish from the Petit-Rhône, in the Gard.