The demise of Paul the Octopus, who became one of this year’s World Cup stars by making several accurate match predictions, was announced yesterday.

Paul was born in Weymouth, England in January 2008 but was adopted by Germany a few months later following a move to the Sea Life Centre aquarium in Oberhausen.

He initially shot to fame in the 2008 European Championships after predicting four of Germany’s six matches correctly. Last summer, he became an international celebrity when he correctly predicted all of the country’s match results.

A controversial figure, Paul faced death threats from German fans during the tournament when he indicated Germany would lose to Spain in the semi-final, prompting Spanish Prime Minister Josè Luis Zapatero to offer him official state protection.

Paul retired to a quiet life at his watery home after the World Cup ended.

Speaking to the BBC, his agent, Chris Davies, said: “It’s a sad day, Paul was rather special but we managed to film him before he left this mortal earth.”