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A 75-year-old woman who was accused of making a meal of her neighbours' valuable Koi carp as part of a campaign of harassment was ordered to pay more than £10,000 in damages.
Farmer Ellen Jones allegedly raided Mark and Jane Fowler's garden pond, fried several of the fish and ate them al fresco in full view of the horrified couple.
The Fowlers claim that over the years their "neighbour from hell" allowed her 90 acre farm to be used as a venue for illegal raves and war games. They say that she also threw dog faeces over the fence and lit bonfires which created acrid smoke.
But the most bizarre episode, according to the Fowlers, came when Koi went missing from the pond at the Fowlers' £450,000 farmhouse in Surrey.
Mr Fowler told Lewes county court that first he thought herons or cats were to blame but he was told his fish would have been too large for herons while cats would have left bones and debris.
When he spotted Miss Jones and labourer Charlie Rashbrook eating fried food on the steps of a caravan next to her home, his suspicions were raised.
He told the court he became convinced the pair were eating the Koi, which are considered delicacies in some parts of the world, when Mr Rashbrook called: "Nice day for a fry-up."
Mr Fowler, "I thought they were eating the fish. It seemed they were doing it on purpose, I had never seen them eat a meal there before."
The Fowlers were claiming £75,000 for loss of value to their home and an undisclosed sum for harassment.
Finding in favour of the Fowlers, Recorder Christopher Morris-Coole said “there was no doubt Miss Jones had caused a substantial nuisance".
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