A grandfather was devastated when he woke up to find all his fish dead - but he was then shocked to learn they had been deliberately poisoned by someone.
William Pritchard, 60, first knew something was wrong when he got a message on his phone from his security system, alerting him to movement outside his home.
He looked outside and saw a man walking nearby but thought nothing of it, and assuming it was a false alarm he went back to sleep.
But the next morning he found all 25 of his fish were floating lifelessly in the water, so he checked his CCTV footage and it appeared to show the mystery man pouring chemicals in the water.
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Horrified 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. I got up later that morning and all the fish were dead in the pond - I saw bubbles, foam and dead fish.
"I was gobsmacked. I looked through the videos and the camera caught him. I couldn't work out why he did it.
"The grandkids loved the fish - they had names for them. I haven't the heart to tell them.
"There were one or two fish swimming about on the side and I got them out and put them into water and they didn't survive."
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.
He had 25 goldfish and baby koi, which cost him around £500, but the fish were worth more to him than the money.
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He continued: "I'd go and sit next to the pond and draw, and it's just been taken away from me," he said.
The father-of-four showed the footage to partner Pauline, 53, the next day before starting to clear out the pond, pump and filter.
The grandfather-of-eleven said: "I've done it about three or four times.
"I've had to scrub the inside of the pond but it's gone right through filtration system and knackered it.
William estimates it will cost £800 to replace the kit.
A spokesperson for Cheshire Police, who are investigating, said: "At 9.30am on Tuesday 6 July police were called to reports of criminal damage at an address.
"The caller reported that a known man had poured an unknown substance into a garden pond, which was harming the fish.
"Enquiries in relation to the incident are ongoing and the person involved will be spoken to by officers.
"Police are not appealing for information at this time."
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