A pair of anglers from Bedfordshire claim to have caught the two biggest carp in the UK on record.

The Comet: Arlesey's Lee Marshall with his 64lb 2oz carp he named Marshalls. Picture: Lee MarshallArlesey's Lee Marshall with his 64lb 2oz carp he named Marshalls. Picture: Lee Marshall (Image: Archant)

Mark Fossy from Chicksands reeled in a carp known as Captain Jack, the largest living carp in the country, at the renowned Holme Fen Fishery in Cambridgeshire on Sunday, May 20.

The carp weighed in at 67lb 12oz, less than the 68lb 8oz when it was caught by Nigel Ludbrook in Novemeber last year.

Although it is heavier than The Parrot – a 68lb 1oz carp that passed away last August – the record has yet to be ratified by the British Record Fish Committee

Despite Mark not breaking the record, he and his friend Lee Marshall, from Arlesey, may now hold a record as Lee explained.

“On Friday, May 18, I caught an unknown carp which weighed in at 64lb 2oz, the second largest in the UK,” he said.

“As it was an unknown fish, the owner of the lake gave me the honour of naming it, so I named it Marshall’s after my family.

“Two other anglers caught a brace of 50lb carp in the same week but, speaking to many people it is thought that a brace of 60lb carp hasn’t been caught in the same session before.

“As carp anglers it’s a dream come true. It’s why people go fishing.”

Lee’s 64lb catch would still need to be ratified by the BRFC after a controversial attempt to claim a record.

Tom Doherty legitimately caught a carp weighing 69lb 3oz named Big Rig at a Shropshire lake in September 2016, but it later emerged that the owner of the lake, had bought the fish from a farm at a weight of 40lb, before hand-rearing it to near the record weight and placing it into the lake.

This led to introduction of strict rules to prove fish were born in the lake they were caught in.

Describing the experience of catching his more than 64lb carp, Lee said: “I hooked the fish in the shallows but in front of my swim is a 40 plus foot hole.

“The fish were just diving into it so trying to play the fish from that depth and of that size was a pretty good fight.

“The feeling when you get a fish like that finally in the net especially in your own country is immense.”