A 54-year-old Whitechapel man has told a local newspaper that he was attacked and badly injured by a giant squid as he was trying to ease his stress about the coronavirus outbreak by immersing himself in a relaxing fantasy about swimming with dolphins.
Toby Dell, a forklift truck engineer, told The East London Gazette: "I've been pretty stressed out lately, what with all this virus business, so I decided to try a relaxation technique that I'd spotted online where you imagine yourself swimming underwater with dolphins.
"I was gliding gracefully through the water with this pod of around five or six bottle-nosed dolphins when this giant squid shot out from behind a rock and started crushing me half to death with its tentacles.
"Fortunately, I was carrying a spear gun, and I shot the creature in the eye, causing it to release its grip and swim off a bit lively.
"I'll probably just seek counselling or try to face up to things from now on."
This incident comes just a week after a man from neighbouring Spitalfields was savagely gored by a bull as he was trying to achieve inner peace by imagining himself walking through a sunlit meadow.
