The European eel is critically endangered with pollution and climate change impacting ocean currents.

They are seen as “a little bit unusual” and “unknown” to many due to their slimy disposition, but eels are having something of a rebrand in Britain’s waterways.

Their numbers dwindled by 94% in the 1980s due to pollution, parasites and several other barriers faced on the riverways.

But they are now being reintroduced across the country in a bid to boost numbers and restore balance to ecosystems.