A REWARD is being offered after £10,000-worth of Japanese koi carp were stolen from a garden in Bishop Auckland.
The six fish were taken overnight on Friday from a pond in Low Etherley.
Their owner, Nicola Roe, who runs Chilton Aquatics, in Chilton, said that it would have taken more than one person to steal the fish because they were so big.
She said: "This has been planned because it would have taken two men to take the fish and that is without the bags and water. They are too big for just one person to carry. They eat from your hand, so it would be easy to coax them to the side of the pond.''
The biggest fish was 30in and the rest about 18in.
Mrs Roe believes the thieves may have been stealing them to keep.
She said: "It would be hard to miss them because they are so big and I am offering a £200 reward for the return or the apprehension of whoever has taken them."
Mrs Roe can be contacted on (01388) 720203.
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