A rare albino devil swimming crab has been hauled up in the pots of a Mylor fisherman.

The white crustacean, which also has red eyes, was caught by Cameron Henry who fishes on the Peter John II.

The velvet swimming crab – which is also known as a devil or witch crab - was caught about a quarter of a mile out to sea, south of Flushing Quay.

Realising the rarity of his catch, Mr Henry contacted staff at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay where it is now on display.

“Albino crustaceans in general are extremely rare, however no one here has ever heard of an albino swimming crab,” said Blue Reef’s David Waines.

“Normally these types of crab are a deep blue or purple colour so to get one like this is very unusual indeed.

“As well as being rare white or albino crustaceans do not tend to survive for long in the wild as they rely on their natural camouflage to protect them from predators.

“However devil crabs are renowned for their extremely aggressive behaviour and it may be that in spite of being such an obvious target this particular crab was able to fight off would-be hunters.

“Although they rarely exceed 10cms in length they will try and attack even the largest intruder including humans, waving their claws violently from side to side,” he added.

Velvet swimming crabs get their name from the fact that their shells are covered with dense, velvety hair and they are also able to use their paddle-like hind legs to swim away from attackers like cuttlefish.

They are found from northern Norway to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea living on rocky shores below the low tide mark and are often found lying in wait under stones in rockpools.