AN animal lover installed a camera in his garden after dozens of fish were mysteriously swiped from his garden pond and killed.

Kelvin Skyrme, who lives at least one mile from the nearest river in Hereford, was prompted to install the technology after discovering his prize koi and other fish scattered headless around his garden.

Hereford Times:

Online research suggested a mink or even human interference were responsible but video evidence revealed a rather different offender – a wild otter.

Mr Skyrme said: “I have been keeping fish for over 40 years and had never seen such devastation.

“Herons will visit garden ponds and eat fish but not to this extent, besides, there are telephone wires over the garden which would deter them plus the fact the ponds are too deep.

"One thing for it – I bought a night vision, motion sensor camera and caught the culprit.

“I was completely taken aback. I have never seen a wild otter and we are at least a mile from the river and within the city. I am an animal lover and in any other circumstances would have loved to have seen a wild otter.”

Mr Kelvin’s garden boasts two ponds. One is about 7ft long and 3ft deep, containing a selection of fancy goldfish as well as some tench and a few frogs.

The other pond is 20ft long, 12ft across and at least 6ft deep, where he keeps koi – some worth hundreds of pounds – as well as some tench, rudd and sturgeon.

“I am a bit of a wildlife buff and I would have loved to have seen an otter but this was a case of being unlucky and lucky at the same time," he added.

“My family and I were due to go on holiday so I had to put into effect a quick solution by securely netting the pond, which seems to have done the trick. Inspection of the camera on our return showed only a few of the neighbourhood cats and a regularly visiting hedgehog.”