A shark has been named after Mario Balotelli – because his antics remind aquarium staff of the controversial Manchester City striker.

The brown shark, known simply as Balotelli, is the biggest – and grumpiest – creature at Blackpool's Sea Life Centre.

He tries to pull some handlers into the pool at feeding time, fixes a surly stare on others and uses his head to nudge balls of rolled up food away from tank-mates.

General manager Jenn Newton said: "We have named him Balotelli because he just seems to exhibit the same behaviour as the footballer.

"At feeding time we put the fish on a big pole and he will try and pull staff into the pool or snap the pole and he also nudges the rolled up balls of food out of the way.

"He is not man-eating, he's just got a nasty bite."

Jenn, 29, added: "It's just a bit of fun, we decided a lot of our creatures had names so we should name our biggest one."