AN otter has been caught on camera scurrying through the streets of Manchester city centre.

The creature, which normally lives around rural rivers and waterways, was spotted by a sandwich shop owner as he arrived to open up.

Neil Cameron, who owns Great American Sandwich, on Cooper Street, near Manchester's China Town district, said he did a double take when the otter dashed behind his car.

Certain

Experts believe it is an Eurasian otter - a territorial species which most commonly inhabit lakes, streams, ponds and rivers.

Mr Cameron, 57, said: "You expect to see a rat or even a fox in the city but not an otter. I've seen one in water before so I was fairly certain of what it was - it was quite shy and had an oily, grey coat.

"I was reversing the car and saw something waddling along behind. I did a double take and thought that's an otter. I got out to have a closer look and went to get my camera but when I came back out it had gone.

"I had to check the CCTV footage to be sure I wasn't seeing things. By all accounts a wild otter has not been seen in the city for a long time."

Walkabout

The animal's early morning walkabout was captured by an office block's CCTV cameras at 7.40am on Saturday August 8.

The otter wandered along West Mosley Street, crossed Booth Street and continued on towards Manchester town hall.

Adam Grogan, RSPCA wildlife rehabilitation coordinator, said it was becoming increasingly common to see otters in city environments. He added: "It's not unheard of to see an otter in an urban area - we have been seeing them on the streets of Glasgow for some time now.

"Otters are part of a wildlife action plan to increase the numbers of the species. High numbers existed in the 60s but many died out in the 80s. We want to return to the figures of 40 years ago." He said the environment agency is currently undertaking a seven-yearly survey of otters and their habitats.