{"id":132834,"date":"2021-07-20T16:30:20","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T16:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=132834"},"modified":"2021-07-20T16:30:20","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T16:30:20","slug":"grandad-catches-man-pouring-disinfectant-into-pond-killing-all-25-beloved-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/grandad-catches-man-pouring-disinfectant-into-pond-killing-all-25-beloved-fish\/","title":{"rendered":"Grandad catches man ‘pouring disinfectant into pond’ killing all 25 beloved fish"},"content":{"rendered":"
A horrified grandfather caught a man allegedly pouring disinfectant<\/span> into his pond in the middle of the night – killing his 25 beloved koi and goldfish.<\/p>\n William Pritchard, 60, was woken by his Patterdale terrier Toto barking at around 1.40am on July 6. <\/p>\n He saw a message from his security system alerting him to movement outside his home and looked out of the window. He saw a man walking by but didn't think anything of it and went back to sleep.<\/p>\n But the next morning, William discovered that all 25 goldfish and baby koi – costing \u00a3500 all together – were dead or floating in foamy water.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The father-of-four and grandfather-of-11 looked back at CCTV footage and caught a man pouring a liquid into the pond. <\/p>\n William said: "I went to the bedroom window and saw this guy walking away, he was carrying a squeezy bottle in his hand. I thought nothing of it.<\/p>\n "I got up later that morning and all the fish were dead in the pond. I saw bubbles, foam and dead fish.<\/p>\n "I was gobsmacked. I looked through the videos and the camera caught him. I couldn\u2019t work out why he did it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n "The grandkids loved the fish – they had names for them. I haven't the heart to tell them.<\/p>\n "There were one or two fish swimming about on the side and I got them out and put them into water and they didn\u2019t survive."<\/p>\n William had been keeping fish at his retirement housing complex in Runcorn, Cheshire since an injury forced him to retire from his job as a joiner.<\/p>\n "I\u2019d go and sit next to the pond and draw, and it's just been taken away from me," he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n William showed the footage to his partner Pauline, 53, the next day before starting to clear out the pond, pump and filter.<\/p>\n He said: "I've done it about three or four times. I\u2019ve had to scrub the inside of the pond but it\u2019s gone right through the filtration system and knackered it.<\/p>\n "I tried to get it up and running so I found a few pond snails and put them in the water but they died right away."<\/p>\n William estimates it will cost \u00a3800 to replace the kit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Don't miss out on the UK's biggest stories. Sign up for the<\/b> <\/b>Daily Star's newsletter<\/u><\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n He said: "I can either let this go and forget about it but if something happens and he does it again I\u2019ll feel guilty.<\/p>\n "I'm not going to let it knock me back, I\u2019ll push forward as hard as I can."<\/p>\n Cheshire Police said: "At 9.30am on Tuesday, July 6 police were called to reports of criminal damage at an address.<\/p>\n "The caller reported that a known man had poured an unknown substance into a garden pond, which was harming the fish.<\/p>\n "Enquiries in relation to the incident are ongoing and the person involved will be spoken to by officers.<\/p>\n "Police are not appealing for information at this time."<\/p>\n