Looking back to when a voracious otter was raiding garden ponds on a housing estate, killing pet fish worth thousands of pounds and driving people to their wits' end, in February 2013.

A wildlife expert told residents there is nothing much they can do about the otter, apart from covering their ponds with metal mesh to safeguard the fish.

The otter, a protected species, is believed to have made its way across ponds and wetlands to Newton Hall, in Durham City, from the River Wear more than a mile away.

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Keith Wood, of Raby Road, said: "Just before Christmas, I first noticed two of my golden orfe, measuring 20in, had gone from my pond.

"A month later, the otter took five fish over three nights. I was at a loss, so stayed up one night and saw it come and take a koi carp in front of my eyes. I put a temporary fence up and the little blighter still got in and took three goldfish. I secured it since and installed a CCTV camera and recorded the otter trying, unsuccessfully, to get in.

"It has been a devastating loss. I have had my fish for about 20 years."

Ron Atkinson, also of Raby Road, said he had covered his pond for the winter and discovered a fortnight ago his fish, worth £1,000, had all been taken. He said: "We have had a pond for 30 years.We are not very happy."

Neighbour Peter Connor said the otter had removed all of his fish, some of them up to 25 years old. He said: "Surely the fish have as much right to life as the otter."

Durham Wildlife Trust reserves manager Mark Richardson said: "There is not a great deal that can be done.

If an otter finds a pond that has got fish in, it will return.

"There will be lots of ponds on the estate with fish in. If there is a rich source of food, the otter will hang around for a while. It's a bit like a fox in a henhouse.

"My advice to people is to take protection measures - put metal mesh over their ponds. It will eventually have to look for food elsewhere."

TWO burglars who carried out an "audacious" museum break-in were given lengthy jail sentences yesterday - despite the "farcical" outcome of the raid.

Lee Paul Wildman, 36, was jailed for nine years, and 33-year-old AdrianMark Stanton, was given an eight-year prison sentence for plotting and carrying out a "smash and grab raid on a grand scale" at Durham Oriental Museum, in Durham City, late on April 5, last year.

The pair smashed their way through a rear wall of the Durham University-run museum before snatching the targeted Chinese artefacts, worth an estimated £2m, from display cabinets.

But Durham Crown Court heard that despite their planning, they ended empty-handed due to their "crass ineptitude", hiding the prized exhibits on wasteland near Harle Street, twomiles away in the hamlet of Browney.

Stanton returned to Harle Street with co-opted driver Justin Oliver Clarke the following day to collect the car used in the raid, an Audi, changing the number plates before they left.

Wildman was seen exasperatedly looking round the scrubland, on April 7, before leaving at sunset having failed to pinpoint the stashed haul.

Following widespread media appeals, the 18th Century items - said to have as much cultural as financial value - were recovered intact eight days later after being found under bushes at the site.

The valued pieces, an expertly crafted jade bowl with its stand and a porcelain figurine, each dating from the Qing dynasty, are now back in the safe-keeping of the university.

Both are to go back on display following a review and widespread improvements of security at the Elvet Hill museum to prevent any possibility of a repeat.

The raid was timed for the start of the Easter weekend break so that few students would be around the usually busy university campus surrounding the museum.

It sparked a police operation involving up to 120 officers and costing £70,000 for the immediate manhunt alone.

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A MUCH-LOVED mobile fish and chip van exploded in flames beside a quiet village green - caused by a build-up of fat in an extractor fan.

The van, owned by Terry Garner, has been visiting villages across North Yorkshire on different days of the week for 32 years.

It caught fire while on its scheduled stop at Hutton Rudby, near Stokesley, at about 1pm on Saturday.

Mr Garner tried in desperation to put the fire out with two fire extinguishers as he stood in the doorway, while shouting to his partner, Jean Stubbs, to jump out of the window, which she did.

The fire quickly took hold and turned the van into an inferno.

Witnesses reported seeing an explosion as the flames came into contact with fat inside the vehicle.

Fire crews from Stokesley, Northallerton and Coulby Newham attended the scene and it was initially feared there were people still inside the van.

However, both Mr Garner and Ms Stubbs has escaped, although Mr Garner, 66, was treated with oxygen at the scene after inhaling smoke.

The blaze was extinguished by firefighters using a hose reel jet, but the vehicle was destroyed.

Mr Garner, who converted the van himself, said: "It was a bit of a shock. I tried to put the fire out, but it had taken hold, so I just got out as fast as possible.

"We then stood and watched it burn and it was awful - everything was flashing in front of me. I had parked it in reverse and it started moving back towards some parked cars before stopping.