A WILDLIFE enthusiast thought he had been spirited away to the wilds of Africa when he spotted a flamingo in Middlewich.

Mike Mottram, of Chester Road, visited the flashes last Saturday hoping to spot otters for a film he is working on.

But the 26-year-old and his brother Ryan were in for a shock when they spotted the pink bird at around 7pm acting as if it was in its natural habitat.

Mike, who sells equipment to BBC’s Springwatch, said: “We were distracted by a large white bird about the same size as a heron but the legs were bright pink.

“After zooming in with my camcorder it was obvious that it was a flamingo and after taking a few photographs I wanted to film it so I would have enough evidence to show what we had seen.

“I thought nobody would believe it - a flamingo feeding like it was in the wilds of Africa.”

The flamingo fed in the shallows and cleaned its feathers while being watched by a suspicious heron from the bank.

“It seemed like it felt quite at home on the canal surrounded by reed beds in a quiet area of the flashes,” added Mike.

It is thought that the lesser flamingo could be ‘Ringo’ - the animal that caused a flap at Manchester Airport when it evaded capture with nets on July 3 and 4.

Ringo caused runway two to be shut while the airport's wildlife control unit and police used various tactics like flares and music to scare it off.

It is still not known where the flamingo has come from but it is understood it could have escaped from a private owner as there are no tags on its legs.

Mike, who is creating a wildlife documentary called Diaries of a Cheshire Wildlife Watcher, said: “We have had amazing encounters with lots of native wildlife of the UK but we have never filmed anything like this before.

“Middlewich seems to have its fair share of new arrivals each year from birds normally seen by the coast to otters and polecats.”

If you have seen ‘Ringo’ or can help solve Middlewich’s flamingo mystery, contact reporter David Morgan on 01606 813623 or email david.morgan@guardiangrp.co.uk