A man who kept a 4ft (1.2m) pet alligator called Cliff in a tank in his back garden for a year has been fined. Ashley Betts claimed he did not know a special licence was needed to keep exotic creatures after police discovered the large reptile at his Rotherham home.

A man in England has been fined after police discovered a pet alligator named Cliff was living in a tank in his backyard, according to a report.

A UK man who kept a pet alligator over a metre long in his back garden has been fined by a magistrate for keeping the exotic pet. Ashley Betts, 32, from Rotherham, pleaded guilty to breaching the Dangerous Wild Animals Act at Sheffield Magistrates Court on Wednesday.