This monstrous 191lb Mekong giant catfish won a delivery driver from Hackbridge a world record and undying admiration from his friends.

Joseph Ball, 21, of Senga Road, was on holiday with friends in Thailand when he picked up a tourist leaflet advertising a fishing trip in the coastal resort of Krabi.

The keen fisherman relished the chance to visit the lake owned by well known angler Stuart Gillham.

He said: “They stock the lake with some of the species that grow really big. I was amazed at some of the fish they had there.”

Using a ball of bait moulded around a hook, Mr Ball caught the huge catfish using just a fishing rod.

He said: “The rods are quite strong but that fish did test it. I could hear parts of the line twanging but you just let it out a bit and pray to God it doesn’t snap.

“It had me sweating and the next day my fingers wouldn’t really work from gripping so hard.

“I had a claw instead of a hand.”

The catch earned him an International Game Fish Association world record for the heaviest Mekong Catfish ever caught with a rod.

It also turned him from zero to hero in the eyes of his friends, after a recent unsuccessful fishing trip in France.

Mr Ball said: “Last summer I went with about 10 friends to a lake in France. I spent seven days fishing and I didn’t catch a single thing.

"This definitely made up for that. I’ve been fishing with my dad since I was about five or six but this is the first notable success I’ve had.

"I try to fish once every couple of weeks. It’s just nice to get away from the traffic and go somewhere relaxing and peaceful."