Giant catch for schoolgirl angler

It took Jessica 20 minutes to pull the fish from the water

A schoolgirl believes she could hold the junior world record for catching the largest freshwater fish.

Jessica Wanstall, 11, of Sittingbourne, Kent, was nearly dragged into the water when the catfish, weighing 193lbs (87kg), took her bait in Spain.

The fish, at nearly 9ft (2.7m) long, was almost twice her height.

"Afterwards, when I put the rod down, I couldn't feel my arms properly... I didn't realise it was going to be that big at all," Jessica said.

The youngster spent 20 minutes trying to pull the monster fish out of the water, and in the end had to have help from her father and his friends.

'Face was picture'

Her father, Mark, recalled: "She was having quite a hard time reeling it in.

"Then when we started pulling it out of the water... it just kept coming, and that's when her face was a picture."

She hooked the fish during a trip to Spain's River Ebro.

After it was weighed, the fish was released back into the water.

The family is waiting to hear officially if Jessica has netted a world record.

Jessica Wanstall said she did not realise the fish would be so big