Cyclist Finds 3 Live Lobsters In Middle Of UK Road

Story ByMichael Leidig, Sub EditorJoseph GolderAgencyCentral European News

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An amateur cyclist was shocked when he rode past what he thought was a large plastic lobster in the middle of the road only to realise that it was the real thing and still alive.

After taking a branch to move the lobster safely to the side of the road, Peter Leidig, 51, who works as a supply teacher in local schools, then spotted another two moving among the leaves in a roadside ditch.

Peter was taking part in a cycle ride last weekend with pal Trevor Ward, 56, in Modbury near Plymouth when he came across the bizarre sight.

He said: “It caught my eye because it was obviously a lobster in the middle of the road, and I thought it was a realistic plastic replica at first.

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“As I got nearer, it looked like it was really good quality. I turned around and when I got closer I realised it was real.”

He said he could see its mouth and antenna moving, and decided to use a branch to move it to the side of the road. He has been worried about getting caught by its pinchers, but then realised the claws had been tied with a band.

Peter said: “When I moved it to the side of the road, I then saw two others rummaging around in the leaves in a ditch, all with their claws tied.”

He called his pal Trevor, who he planned to meet for a bike ride, and asked him to drive over in his car with a large bucket so they could return the large marine crustaceans to the sea, about four miles away.

He said: “I didn’t have any other way to carry them, and although they were moving there were clearly not in a good way.”

When his friend arrived with a metal tub, they put the three lobsters inside and took them to the beach where they placed them in a pool of water on the shore.

Peter said: “I put the biggest one in first and was rewarded with what I would describe as a happy clicking sound and then it flipped its tail.

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“All three recovered pretty quickly and moved around in the pool without wanting to leave.”

He said they started to walk back to the car when they noticed a large flock of seagulls further down the beach. The pair returned and covered the lobsters in seaweed to keep them safe for a short while.

Peter said: “It was really bizarre seeing a lobster in the middle of the road and the others rummaging around in the leaves.

“I have no idea how they got there, I did look around to see if there were any others, but all I found was a single claw nearby with no sign of the lobster that it belonged to.

“I wonder if they somehow fell off the back of a lorry at night, and whoever lost them managed to find some, but missed these three in the darkness?”

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He said that he later learned that a lobster can fetch as much as 50 GBP per kilogramme and that the largest one was easily around two kilogrammes in size.

Peter said he probably had around 200 GBP in lobster meat at his disposal, however he never had any intention of trying to sell them on.

He said: “There was no question about whether I was gonna put them in the pot or sell them, I wanted to take them back to the sea.”

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