Gran devastated after 28 beloved fish worth £25,000 deliberately poisoned in Alfreton Derbyshire

Christine Whiteley, who knew each fish down to its last scale was horrified when she woke up and discovered her pond covered in a white foam, believed to be detergent deliberately poured in. The 70-year-old rushed into her garden at 7am on October 25 and said panic stations ensued as she frantically scooped the fish, including Koi carp, out of the pond and hosed them down in clean water.

The gran-of-four gently placed the stricken critters, some measuring more than 2ft, 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.

Gutted Christine is now considering moving from her home of 48 years because of the incident. Christine, from Alfreton, Derbyshire, said: “I was devastated, as were my daughters. It's upsetting. You make 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. I'm thinking about moving house.

Christine, who'd raised some of the fish for 28 years, dutifully tended the 18ft-long pond that held Koi carp, Golden Rudd, bream and goldfish. Many of the fish 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 they found the scene of devastation in the garden. Laura believes whoever is responsible got into 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.

Laura 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 October 25 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.”

You can donate to the fundraiser here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-our-mum-restore-her-pond-after-deliberate-poisoning