A HEARTBROKEN family has had ten years of hard work destroyed after "sick" vandals poured lethal chemicals into their garden pond – killing more than 20 valuable koi carp.

A HEARTBROKEN family has had ten years of hard work destroyed after "sick" vandals poured lethal chemicals into their garden pond – killing more than 20 valuable koi carp.

Police are investigating after protective sheeting covering the pond was slashed and an unknown substance, believed to be some kind of detergent, was poured into the prized garden pond created by Tony and Valerie Fisher on Monday night.

Mr Fisher described the fish, worth more than £5,000, as part of the family and slammed those responsible for the "devastating" crime.

He said: "I don't know how anyone could have done this – it is cold-blooded murder on animals.

"I have been working for ten years to get the pond the way it is now and caring for them and whoever did this is so vindictive and bloody-minded.

"They have destroyed everything, we had about 27 really good-sized fish and we started it all off with just a few babies.

"Some of them were worth about £300 but we didn't do it for the money, it was just for enjoyment."

The incident took place between 3.15pm and 4.45pm on Monday and Mr Fisher said he was alerted by his wife who looked outside and saw foam coming from the pond in their Brandon home.

He said: "As soon as I heard, I left work early but on my way home, my wife phoned and said all the fish had died.

"On arrival, my wife was on her hands and knees trying to salvage the fish. She was devastated and I am to be honest.

"We have tried washing everything down with water but it won't cure the problem and everything will have to be destroyed."

Only four of the fish have survived and Mr Fisher has painstakingly worked round the clock in a bid to save them.

He said: "We have managed to salvage, isolate and transfer four of the fish to a tank in the garage. We had to change the water on an hourly basis and the vets told us to stroke the fish to try and get the substance off.

"We like to think they will pull through but their eyes look a little smoky which means they may have lost their sight."

Police are now taking samples from the water and consulting with veterinary services in a bid to determine what the unknown substance was.

Mr Fisher, of Spruce Drive, said: "My property backs on to Thetford Forest and we think the culprit or culprits climbed on the back of our fence, cut through the tarpaulin on top and then lent across and dropped the chemical straight into the pond."

Mr Fisher, who praised police for their actions in dealing with the crime, said he has not made a decision whether to start collecting carp again.

Jon Knight, an inspector for the area with the RSPCA, promised to investigate the incident if someone was caught for the offence.

"This is not a particular nice situation for any type of animal, but for fish, who have no route to escape, it is sickening," Mr Knight said.

Anyone with any information should contact Pc Keith Grant at Suffolk Police on 01284 774100 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.