THIS is really someFIN special!

A couple have enjoyed an emotional reunion with a baby shark — after rescuing him from an Indian restaurant.

Kind-hearted Gemma Cuffe and Kirsty Hollinworth, from Bromley Cross, took the leopard shark from the eaterie in Worsley when the new owners decided they didn't want it.

The pair christened it Cal — because leopard sharks are most common off the Californian coast — but knew it would soon need a much bigger home and contacted Manchester Sea Life Centre who were happy to take him in.

Gemma said: “He was only about eight inches long at the time and having recently acquired a big fish tank complete with two other refugees – a lionfish and a puffer fish – we decided to offer him a temporary home. It was hard to part with him and until this week we hadn’t had a chance to get back and see how he was doing. Cal looks really happy and healthy in the massive tank at the Sea Life centre.

“He was never a suitable species for a home aquarium tank and Kirsty and I have no doubts whatsoever that we’ve done the best we could for him by letting him go.”

Kirsty, aged 32, is a born-and-bred Boltonian while Gemma, 30, is originally from Longsight in Manchester.

Partners in both life and business for 10 years, they are best known for organising International Muay Thai Boxing events in the UK.

Privately, they are self-confessed softies and have also rescued an abandoned puppy and a marmoset monkey.

The reunion with Cal coincided with their 10th anniversary together, and the couple were delighted to see him in fine fettle, having grown to over two feet long in a large display tank he shares with a school of cow-nosed rays.

“He is the only leopard shark in any UK Sea Life centre and we’re proud to have him on display,” added resident marine expert Andy Hill.

“Even public aquariums have limited space, however, so it’s vital we do what we can with the help of creatures like Cal to educate people and discourage them from making unwise purchases in the first place.”