The BBC's Peter Wilson reports on the Sandwell salamander saga

Staff at the Sandwell Valley Country Park in West Bromwich have banned anglers, canoeists and windsurfers from the waters of the lake until they can be sure the four foot beast is not dangerous.

Sandwell Council officers have contacted experts in the US, believing the creature is a fully-grown North American salamander.

News of the reptile has trebled attendance figures at the park, which is only a stone's throw from the M5 motorway.

Search is on for the beast

Sandwell Council's senior interpretation officer John Stokes, who oversees the running of the country park, said: "If we are right, it could be a breed of salamander which lives in the Appalachian Mountains, a cold water lizard, which could explain why it can survive in this lake."

'No threat to wildlife'

"It has not threatened the other wildlife on the lake at all. We still have the same numbers of birds and ducks and there has been no disturbance in their behaviour patterns on the water, which would suggest a non-predatory animal."

West Bromwich: Hardly a hotbed of wildlife

Ranger Ricky Downes is one of those who has seen it.

"The best way of describing it is to say it's three or four feet long, with four legs and a tail," he said.

Several wildlife experts and cranks have turned up at the park claiming they can catch the creature.

Adult salamanders can grow up to a foot long, but the giant versions in the Far East can be five foot long.

They are generally shy and sluggish creatures, feeding mostly at night on worms, slugs, snails and molluscs.