Not deterred by rumours that all the big barbel had been predated in the stretch, the London based angler Kenny Massey went on to land this impressive 15lb 9oz fish.

Kenny visited a private stretch of the Oxfordshire waterway where he pre-baited several likely looking spots with broken boilies. After arriving on the day Kenny settled in his first swim and threw in some freebies using a leger rig made up of 12lb mainline, a 3oz lead and a critically balanced meaty boilie wrapped in paste.

After only 30 minutes he received a screaming bite that resulted in not only a new record but amazingly his first ever running water barbel. If claimed, the capture would beat the previous best for the waterway by a massive 2lb 9oz, a record held by Mick Coleman since 2002.