Escape claws: 3ft-long lobster Eddy is saved from the pot after being donated to an aquarium

Move over Moby Dick. Get out of the water Jaws. There’s a new monster from the deep. And he’s a lobster called Eddy.

The giant crustacean, who was caught in the English Channel, is three feet long, weighs an incredible11lbs and has mammoth 18-inch claws.

But, despite being more than four times the size of the average lobster and big enough to feed ten people, he has been spared from the pot.

Astonished fishermen John Brannan donated him to Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay, Cornwall.

Eddy, who is estimated to be 70 years old, was caught 40 miles away at Eddystone Reef in Devon.

Blue Reef Curator Matt Slater said: ‘Eddy’s a truly impressive specimen.

‘He is in fantastic condition with a bright blue body and a red-coloured claw.

‘It’s by far the largest crusher that anyone here has ever seen.

‘The claw is so large that he actually seems to have some difficulty lifting it up, particularly when he is out of the water.

‘Initially we thought it may have grown so large as a response to his environment but some experts also believe that females may actually favour males with disproportionately large crusher claws so it could be that Eddy’s developed his huge appendage to attract the ladies.’

Ben Marshall an aquarist at Blue Reef added: ‘He is an immense lobster.

‘Normally if you order a lobster in a restaurant it will be about one to two pounds in weight.

‘This could feed 10 people - it’s huge.

‘He will definitely not be getting cooked. He will be living a long life.’

Eddy is a European Common Lobster and staff estimate that he is over 50 years old.

Mr Marshall said: ‘He is very healthy but the bigger they get the less mobile they get.

‘They don’t tend to wander much so he’s got himself into the corner of the tank.

‘It is not known whether Eddy will stay on display at Blue Reef aquarium but he definitely will not be ending the on a dinner plate.

‘Lobster can live to well over 100 years old.’

The European lobster is solitary, nocturnal and territorial, choosing to live in holes or crevices in the sea floor during the day.

They feed on invertebrates such as crabs, molluscs, sea urchins, polychaete worms and starfish, but may also eat fish and plants.

The largest lobster ever caught was bagged in Nova Scotia, Canada. It weighed 44lb.