'Million-to-one coincidence' as red kite drops trout at Rutland Water Golf Club

When Paul Friend promised to catch a Rutland Water trout for his golfing pal Tony Wright, he hadn’t bet on the remarkable turn of events that followed.

The keen fisherman said he would try to hook a decent-sized fish as a treat for Tony and girlfriend, Sharon, who was coming up from London for dinner the next evening.

But when Paul looked at the forecast, he found that the weather was a touch too warm for the trout to ‘bite’ and thought he was going to have to let Tony down.

The next day, Paul and Tony decided to play a few holes at Rutland Water Golf Club.

As they headed up the 14th fairway, a huge red kite swooped down in front of them.

“It landed about 100 yards ahead of us and plonked down a 2lb trout. It was unbelievable,” said Tony. “A million-to-one coincidence. I thought it was a miracle!”

Paul cleaned up and gutted the trout at the golf club before giving it to Tony to cook for his dinner with Sharon.

“It tasted delicious!” said Tony, 70, who is the ex-Seniors Champion and current Super-Seniors Champion at Rutland Water Golf Club.

Paul, 73, is no stranger to a spot of luck on the golf course having had six hole-in-ones in his lifetime.

He said: “I’ve fished for years and even used to work in fisheries at Rutland Water, but I’ve never seen anything like this before.

“It’s usually osprey which do the fishing, so I imagine the red kite had stolen the fish off a bank, and perhaps off another fisherman!”

If you have a quirky tale to tell, call the Mercury news desk on 01780 758951.