Bristol crocodile sighting: Motorist almost crashes after spotting reptile in river

A motorist has told how she almost crashed her car after spotting the 'Bristol crocodile' in a river.

Kelly Gray, 41, said she saw the 6ft animal put its head above water as she drove past the entrance to the St Mary Redcliffe School on the River Avon.

She told the Metro: "I was so stunned I nearly crashed the car. He was swimming along the river and he just put his head above the water.

"I could see his eyes and his snout. I could see him quite clearly."

Police started a hunt for the creature on Monday after a bus driver reported seeing a crocodile on the loose under the Coronation Bridge.

Nick Gargan, the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police, wrote on Twitter: "One of our officers was flagged down by a bus driver today, claiming to have seen a 6ft crocodile under Coronation Bridge. We can't find it."

A police spokesman told the BBC: "We were called at 10:28am on Monday, 3 February, to reports of a crocodile sighted on Bedminster Bridge.

"We carried out a search of the area but found no trace of the reptile."

The crocodile has not yet been found by authorities, but is already so famous it has its own Twitter profile, called Chris the Croc.

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