AN otter in the Shaw area is taking easy pickings from garden fishponds.

The otter has raided fish from several ponds in the Shaw Hill and Lowden area in recent weeks. The animals are a protected species.

One of his victims is Michele Booth, who lives on Shaw Hill, and has lost 15 of her 20 Koi carp.

Mrs Booth said: “I love otters and would never do him any harm but he’s taken most of my fish.”

She and her husband, Mike, who run Wild View Cameras, managed to capture footage of the otter on their wildlife watching equipment.

They have now been forced to remove the rest of their fish and take them to a friend’s pond in Broughton Gifford to protect them.

Wildlife expert Martin Bailey, who runs Wildlife & Countryside Services in North Wales, said: “The recent heavy rain which has swollen the River Avon has forced the otter to seek easy pickings in tributaries and garden ponds. The easiest way to deter him is to install electric fencing.”