Jessica, from Sittingbourne, Kent, hooked the fish during a trip with her father to the Ebro River in North-East Spain. She said: ‘I didn’t realise just how big it was until I saw the photos afterwards. I look tiny next to it.

‘My dad thought it was going to be a small one and I told him it didn’t feel small when I picked up the rod. It was really hard work pulling it in and my arms turned to jelly.

‘My dad helped lift it on to the bank and I just laughed when I saw it. It was massive.’

Her father Mark, a 49-year-old engineer, helped return the catfish to the river after his daughter’s triumph was photographed.

He said: ‘Jessica normally catches tiddlers but just loves a day’s fishing.