Crocodiles spotted in Newcastle creek
A juvenile freshwater crocodile was sighted in a Hunter creek on Saturday afternoon. (Supplied: Stephanie Kirsop)
In short:
Several juvenile freshwater crocodiles have been spotted in a creek in the New South Wales Hunter region.
Australian Reptile Park rangers have travelled from the Central Coast to search for the crocodiles.
Residents have been asked to avoid the area.
Several freshwater crocodiles have been spotted by onlookers in a creek at Wallsend, in the New South Wales Hunter region.
The creek, known as Ironbark Creek, is located west of Newcastle and sits below a walking track popular with locals.
On Saturday afternoon, locals in the area posted videos and pictures to social media, alerting the public to the sighting.
After authorities were alerted, Australian Reptile Park rangers travelled from the Central Coast to search for the crocodiles over the weekend.
Lionel Saunders and his mother Stephanie Kirsop alerted authorities after they spotted the crocodiles. (ABC Newcastle: Nakita Jager)
Fletcher resident Lionel Saunders was the first to spot the crocodiles.
He said he saw five while he was by the creek with a friend.
"My mate was down here and he said, 'Come look,' and I thought it was a lizard, not a crocodile,"he said.
"We stood there and watched it for a bit and we thought it was fake."
Dozens of people turned up to the banks of the creek on Sunday to look around for crocodiles. (ABC Newcastle: Nakita Jager)
Mr Saunders said he and his friend threw a stick in the water near the crocodile and they watched as it moved.
"It took me two hours to tell Mum because she wouldn't believe me."
Lionel Saunders was by the creek with a friend when he spotted the crocodile. (Supplied: Stephanie Kirsop)
After Mr Saunders alerted his mother, Stephanie Kirsop, about the sighting, she tried contacting authorities.
"I thought it was a trick.. I thought, 'That's definitely a log.'
"I rang wires and the reptile park and they didn't believe me and told me to send photos and videos,"Ms Kirsop said.
Ms Kirsop grew up in Wallsend and said she only ever saw eels in the creek.
"I still didn't believe it until I saw it swimming around in the water," she said.
Australian Wildlife Park rangers searched for the crocodiles on Sunday. (ABC Newcastle: Nakita Jager)
'Illegal' release
Hunter Wildlife Rescue senior reptile coordinator Teresa Purnell said it was important crowds stayed away from the area so the crocodiles could be located.
Loading..."The crocodiles can submerge underwater for quite a long time," she said.
"There were people throwing things at them so they disappeared.
"I would strongly urge people not to go and sticky beak in the area because it would make the chance of finding them more difficult."
Ms Purnell said the crocodiles were likely to have been illegally transported from Queensland.
"The most likely reason that they're there is someone has brought them illegally from up north, and then when they've gotten bigger they've just let them go into the waterways, and that's just not quite the way to do it,"she said.
In a statement, NSW Police said it was not known how long the crocodile had been in the water.
The Australian Reptile Park was unable to provide comment today.