A resident was left 'shocked' after spotting a turtle swimming in the canal in Kidderminster. 

The turtle was seen in the water along the stretch of canal by Sainsbury's on Crossley Retail Park. 

One Kidderminster resident, who did not wish to be named, managed to snap footage of the reptile swimming in the canal on Friday (July 19). 

He said: "The turtle was about three metres from Sainsbury's on the canal and I must say it came as quite a shock to see it in the wild like it was as I've never seen one in person."

According to the Canal and River Trust, turtles and terrapins can often be spotted in the waterways in the Midlands and in the South of England. 

The presence of terrapins in British waterways is reportedly largely due to the 1980s craze for the 'tiny' swimming reptiles, which was bred by the popularity of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV show.

Many owners irresponsibly released their turtles into the wild upon realising they were too big and impractical to be kept as pets in most households.

Terrapin turtles, which are classed as invasive species, are ill-equipped to survive in the damp British climate and feed on a huge range of food sources which impact local and native wildlife.