Dad divides social media after capturing octopus and cooking it in a stir fry

A dad found a 'massive' octopus off a British beach - and ate it at home in a stir fry for tea.

Shocked Ziggy Austin, 40, spotted the creature while fishing with his young daughter Lauren on Monday (17/4).

The enormous cephalopod measured nearly 7ft and it was so large when he first saw it he thought it was a fishing net.

Unfortunately the colossal creature was dead when Ziggy found it at Hopes Nose near Torquay, Devon.

Ziggy says he believes the entire bulbous head of the octopus had been bitten off by a seal - leaving the rest of the body intact.

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Determined to make the most out of the creature he has since put it on ice and is slowly eating it bit by bit.

He has already enjoyed some by marinating it in teriyaki sauce and serving with stir fried veg.

Ziggy said: "I was out fighting with my daughter and I spotted what looked like a abandoned fisherman's net.

"Then it started sort of moving a bit, so I climbed down to the water's edge to take a look. That's when a wave came in and rolled it over - and then I saw the suckers.

"It's absolutely not normal to see an octopus that size. I've been a man of the sea all my life, and I've never seen anything like it. It was larger than my daughter.

"I knew straight away that I had to try and get hold of it, so I used the end of my fishing rod to sort of reach into the water and tangle it around the octopus to pull it out.

"When we got the behemoth up onto the rock we stretched it out we could see that a seal had bitten the head clean off the top.

"I'm not sure how big an octopus' head is compared to the rest of it's body, but it must have been massive with the head on too. It just had it's eyes left."

Ziggy, who runs Rock Solid Coasteering from his home in Maidencombe, Torquay, posted a video of the enormous creature on his YouTube channel.

The sea life lover and scientist filmed himself dissecting the creature showing what its beak and other features looked like.

Ziggy also won the Torquay edition of Come Dine With Me in 2014, and has already tested out his skills at cooking the octopus.

He added: "I had some of it last night, it was delicious. After I caught it loads of people around Hopes Nose were giving me advice on how to cook it.

"On the advice of one gentleman, I simmered it for 45 minutes and then marinated it in teriyaki sauce and served with stir fried veg.

"The rest of it is on ice, I'm hoping to make the most out of it. I could never kill such an amazing creature - but it shouldn't be wasted.

"I've had friends messaging me asking for pieces, so I've given away a leg or two."

Additional reporting by SWNS.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.