London, Oct 2 : A five-year-old boy from Texas shot dead a 12ft alligator using his small shotgun.

Simon Hughes was hunting with his dad on their 5,000-acre ranch, when they had an encounter with the 800-pound reptile.

The Telegraph quoted Simon as saying: "I wasn''''t afraid for a second. Next year I''''m going to kill me a bigger alligator."

He added: “My friends were proud of me and I was proud of myself. It''''s humungous.”

Simon, who trained to shoot guns a year ago, is also adept in driving all-terrain vehicles.

His mother Toni Hughes said: "It sort of scares you to death because there are alligators, there are snakes, all sorts of things out there.

"What we thought was massive was a 10 foot alligator, and this one just dwarfs the 10 foot. It''''s just so massive and prehistoric looking."

Simon’s trophy – the alligator’s head will be mounted and bookshelves will also be made out of it. (ANI)