RARE blue trout have been released into an Oxfordshire Reservoir .

A handful of the fish were introduced to Farmoor Reservoir by Thames Water.

The fish, which are set to be highly prized by catch-and-release fishermen at the venue, were part of a larger restocking programme that includes 500 rainbow trout weighing more than 3lb. A selection of brown trout were also introduced.

Matt Prior, Farmoor’s ranger team leader, said: “We’re really excited about having the blue trout in Farmoor as they are fairly rare.

“They’re a natural genetic throwback found in farmed trout, similar to albino individuals in natural populations.

“They swim faster and jump a lot more than the normal rainbow trout and are very exciting to catch. They’re also very pretty and look like a streak of aqua marine swimming.”

Mr Prior added: “We stock both reservoirs at Farmoor throughout the year but the quality fish such as the brown and blue trout we’ve stocked on this occasion are particularly special.”