A BOLTON man survived living in a Brazilian jungle full of piranhas, crocodiles and tarantulas during an expedition to discover unknown fish.

Neil Woodward, who owns an aquatic centre, spent two weeks in the sweltering heat of the tropical rainforests and managed to find and document seven mystery animals.

It was one of the 30-year-old's ambitions to travel to Brazil, find the fish and find out how they are transported to places like his shop.

Neil, of Chorley Road, Westhoughton, set off with a fellow enthusiast, German Hans Evers, on October 14 and enjoyed an amazing experience.

They landed at Sao Paulo, then made their way to Porto Velho and onto the rainforest in the east of the country.

Neil has worked with fish since he left school and knew there were fish which had never been documented in the depths of the Brazilian jungle.

He said: "We managed to find seven new types, including a type of catfish which I had to persuade a Brazilian woman not to eat.

"I didn't realise the hard work which goes into transporting the fish. We had to take water from the site where we found them and replace the water at the same temperature every three to four hours."

Hans has taken most of the specimens back to Germany, where he will study them and write a book about their experiences.

Neil, who owns Pier Aquatics in Wigan town centre, has a few of the fish he discovered in the shop. Some are for sale, while others are for show. Now safely back home in Westhoughton, where he does not keep any fish, the Bolton man said the jungle was an amazing place to live for 16 days.

He added: "It was superb, mad. Everything's alive. You'd shine a torch on a tree and it would be crawling with bugs. The water was full of crocodiles and piranhas as well, but the biggest danger came from the mosquitos."

Neil has now got a taste for the Brazilian jungle and wants to return in two years' time to discover more unknown fish.