Slippery carp thief caught hook, line and sinker by Surrey villagers

Beare Green villagers chased after a carp thief themselves after getting no answer from police.

The fish, which can live up to 20 years, are fed by the children and very much loved in the Mole Valley village.

So residents were not pleased when one evening after dark, at about 8.30pm, they saw someone take the carp out of Merebank Pond near the village hall and shove them into bags.

They called 101 but when no one picked up, seeing the thief get in a van and drive away, they decided to take matters into their own hands.

The two men jumped in their separate cars and chased after the culprit down the A24, forcing him to stop.

Caroline Salmon, Mole Valley District Councillor for Beare Green, said: “One car went in front and one behind. The van stopped and they saw the fish were still alive and encouraged the miscreant to take them back.

“Vigilante action shouldn’t be encouraged, but it shouldn’t be needed, it should be possible to get a police response.

“I don’t encourage it, but on this occasion it worked.”

She added: “The fish are very much loved in this village community, you can even tell them apart.”

A Surrey Police spokesperson said the theft was reported the following day.

She said: “The caller followed the van until it stopped and told the two men that they had been seen taking the fish.

“The men admitted to taking the fish, and returned them to the pond.

“The caller said there had been a report of the two men fishing in the same pond the week before, using the same vehicle.

“Although the fish were initially taken without permission they were subsequently returned.”

The incident happened in October, when police said their average waiting time for answering 101 was below their three-minute target. It came to light after statistics were released around average call waiting times.

But since it happened, the fish have again been stolen and the pond now lies empty.

There were delays in the 101 service in the summer as contact centre and control room staff had to begin working from multiple locations in order to socially distance.

The average waiting time rose to 3mins 51 secs in August, with a third of calls going unanswered, compared with a 1min 24secs wait and just under a fifth of unanswered calls in March. Police said last month wait times were almost back to March levels.

101 is the number to ring when reporting crimes after the event, while 999 should be used when there is danger to life or the crime is, or likely to be, serious and in progress and an offender has just been disturbed at the scene.