A couple have been left stunned after their dog discovered a "mermaid" in Oxford's Port Meadow. 

The pair, who would like to stay anonymous, say it was not breathing on discovery and seemed as if it had been dead for quite a while.

The husband said: "I'm not sure what to make of it.

"I have thought about taking it to the Natural History Museum but I'm not sure. 

"I would quite like to keep it or get it preserved.

"I always knew Oxford was a place for literary mystical - Tolkien and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - but never actually expected to find my own mermaid."