Grandmother's heartbreak after 40 fish worth £25k 'poisoned by local she'd rowed with'

A grandmother has spoken out over her heartbreak after 40 of her beloved fish, worth around £25,000 died. Christine Whiteley, 70, believes they were poisoned by a neighbour she'd fallen foul of.

She was horrified when she woke up and discovered her pong covered in a white foam, which she believes to be detergent deliberately poured in. She rushed into her garden at 7am on October 25 and said that 'panic stations' ensued as she frantically scooped the fish, including Koi carp, out of the pond and hosed them in clean water.

A family member described Christine as loving her pet fish, saying: "She absolutely adored her fish. She knew each fish down to its last scale. It was her passion."

The gran-of-four gently placed the stricken animals, some measuring more than 2ft long, in make-shift tanks including her bathtub and grandkids' paddling pool in a desperate bid to save them.

But tragically all but one goldfish, now renamed Lucky, perished and the 28 fish were buried in a mass grave on a family friend's farm.

Christine, from Altreton, Derbyshire, is now considering moving from her home of 48 years because of the event. She has said that she thinks the culprit could be a local she had come to blows with in the past.

She said: "I was devastated, as were my daughters. It's upsetting. You make it [your garden] your own and it takes years.
"It's expensive. For one [Koi] that's about two or three inches long, some of the aquatic places charge £120.

"I'm missing them terribly. They weren't fish in a pond, they were all individuals and they were all pets.

"We've known all along who we think has done it. I'm thinking about moving house."

Christine, who'd raised some of the fish for 28 years, tended the 18ft-long pond that held Koi carp, Golden Rudd, bream and goldfish. Many of which were birthday, Mother's Day and Christmas presents to her from family members.

Christine said: "I opened the gate and I looked around the garden and thought, 'what the heck's that?' It was like a big white bag had blown onto the end of my pond.
"Then I thought 'no way, there's been no breeze'. I walked down [to the pond], it was like foam, that's the best way I could describe it, there was a fish already upside down.

"It was just panic stations getting whatever we could get to put water in because of the fish. There were such a lot of them, it was just too late.

"The sheer size of these fish, we just couldn't accommodate where to put them.

"I got the hosepipe and I tried to flush them out. Quite a few of them were still breathing but their gills were very shallow.

"I knew I was going to lose them. It was just absolutely manic, they'd been in this particular pond 22 years."

Christine's daughter Laura Bates, 38, was there on the morning the nightmare unfolded. She believes whoever is responsible gained entry to the garden by scaling a fence that borders disused allotments, where mud was found on the panelling.

Lorry driver Laura took the fish to a friend's farm with her mum where their friend dug a hole and buried them.

She said: "She was heartbroken and distraught. She said she would have rather it been her than the animals. It was soul destroying.

"I know they're only fish but when you've had something that's part of your life for 22 years, it's bound to affect you.

"It was horrendous. I went out and had a look and there was foam right up to the fence, it was just so high.

"The fish were floating, obviously they'd just died. We've got a friend that owns a farm and I had to take them in my car.

"We took them to the farm and then he buried them with a digger."

Christine's family have started a GoFundMe page to raise money to get the pond back up and running.

A family member described Christine as loving her pet fish, writing: "She absolutely adored her fish. She knew each fish down to its last scale. It was her passion."

A Derbyshire police spokesman said: "We received a report on 25 October of criminal damage at a property in Alfreton, where a number of fish had been killed in a pond.

"Enquires are ongoing and anyone who may be able to assist is asked to contact the force with reference 207-251024."

Click to donate to the fundraiser.