Sarah Jayne Ellis, a nurse from Castleford Croc in West Yorkshire town, did not expect to see a giant croc just as she was looking out of her bedroom window and into her neighbour's back garden.
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An unlikely sighting
As it turns out, the woman spotted the animal just in time to capture a picture with her mobile phone for evidence. She says that although she did not actually get to see it move, she is convinced that a real-life crocodile was casually taking a stroll in her neighbour's garden:
I thought 'that's a crocodile'. I was shutting the blinds in the bedroom when I saw it on the grass. I looked a couple of hours later and it was gone.
The healthcare worker explained that she was too tired from having worked a long shift to properly take the time to further investigate the crazy croc sighting. After snapping pics, and sending it to her sister-in-law Kate Eliis Holmes, she says that the reptile had left the neighbour's garden a couple of hours later. A stunned Holmes says that:
I was just genuinely in disbelief when she was telling the story. When I saw the picture I was in disbelief. I thought it was bizarre and a really interesting story. It definitely looks like a crocodile.
Not the first croc in town
Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time a crocodile is spotted in Castleford. In 2020, photographer Lee Collings made a similar discovery at the Fairburn Ings nature reserve. According to the man, he spotted a crocodile while birdwatching:
I am 46 years old and have been a birdwatcher for over 30 years, and I've never seen anything like this, other than a crocodile or alligator.
Adding:
It walked like it was rigid. It moved slow, but too fast to photograph it by the time I realised what I thought it was. It was 3ft to 4ft in length and about 4ins to 5ins high.