A whopping carp has been landed in a popular fishing lake for the first time in years.
Tony Parker, of Third Avenue, Chadwell Heath, wrestled for more than 15 minutes with the 16lb common carp at the Valence Moat Park, in Dagenham, last week.
The haul was made all the more remarkable by the fact that 56-year-old Mr Parker has Guillain-Barr� syndrome, a condition that leaves him confined to an electric wheelchair with only limited use of his hands.
Speaking from the banks of the lake he told the Recorder: “This is the largest fish to be caught in the moat for many years, and it was quite an achievement because I was only using light tackle, and a size 14 barbless hook.”
The park is accessible for disabled people and it takes Mr Parker 15 minutes to get there, once he has loaded his wheelchair with his fishing gear.
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