Villagers were terrified after a fisherman caught an ugly fish that looks like horror film character Freddy Krueger.

Somboon Temcheun caught the strange fish in brackish water close to the sea in Krabi province, southern Thailand, last Thursday.

At first, he thought it was just a bunch of muddy leaves until he saw its black pellet-shaped eyes.

It resembled an angry man's face with a wide mouth, gnarled skin, and threatening eyes.

Somboon immediately removed the deformed fish from the net among the other normal-looking fish and took it in its own special basket before rushing home.

The excited fisherman then showed it to his friends because he wanted to know what type of fish could look like something out of a horror movie.

He said: "This is the first time I've seen anything like it. I caught it in my fishing net and its appearance stood out from the other fish that I usually cash.

''One of the other fishermen said it looked like a horror movie character because its face is all wrinkled.''

The fisherman's neighbours urged him to throw it away as it could cause bad luck in the village but he insisted on keeping the rare find in his house.

However, local marine scientist Thon Thamrongnawasawat clarified that the strange wildlife is actually a toadfish - eaten as a delicacy in some parts of Southeast Asia.

He said: "It is not a monster or a mutant so do not panic, because around 80 species of toadfish are found around the world."

Toadfish are shaped like a rock and like to live on the ground. They sometimes camouflaged in a log without scales to hunt shellfish.

These fish vary from mild to extremely poisonous, so they are only prepared by experienced cooks into exotic dishes.

Freddy Krueger is a fictional character in the 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' film series who is a serial killer who uses a gloved hand with razors to kill his victims in their dreams.