A WALKER snapped' a picture of a terrapin hiding between a pair of unsuspecting ducks in imminent danger from the non-native reptile.

Paul Morris captured the creature on film near Holme in the same week that a spate of duck attacks in London were blamed on terrapins.

"It was strange because I was walking along the canal and I thought: What the heck is that'," said Mr Morris. "At first I thought it was a helmet, but then it moved."

"It was a very large terrapin sitting between two ducks so I quickly ran home to get a camera."

Terrapins were snapped up by children during the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze of the early '90s but when they grew too big to keep as pets they were illegally released into waterways. They grow from the size of a fifty pence piece to the size of a dinner plate, and can become difficult to look after.

Senior Conservation Officer for the Cumbria Wildlife Trust Joe Murphy said it was illegal to dump terrapins and added that they were an unwelcome addition to our ecosystem.

"It's just another alien species getting into the wild. We already have problems with grey squirrels, now coatis and terrapins are also a problem. They are carnivorous and quite aggressive often taking ducklings and are something we don't need in our eco-system.