Is Stumpy the city otter stranded in Durham by leg injury?

Garden-loving residents of Framwellgate Moor and Newton Hall, in Durham, have little sympathy for the animal, as over the past six months it has killed pet fish worth many thousands of pounds.

But new video captured by Brian Agar, of Caterhouse Road, shows the otter has lost part of its back right leg.

It is thought the injury could explain why Stumpy, as the animal has become known, is preying on ponds – if it can’t reach the River Wear, a more natural habitat, which is more than a mile away.

Mr Agar’s footage, from shortly before 7am on Sunday (June 23), shows Stumpy failing to get into his garden pond, which he had covered with a protective framed net after losing several fish over previous nights.

The 62-year-old van driver is concerned for his four-year-old grandson, Owen Williamson, and wants the otter removed.

However, otters and their resting places are protected in law. Deliberately capturing, injuring or killing an otter or damaging, destroying or obstructing their breeding or resting places are criminal offences.

The most serious offences are punishable by a £5,000 fine or six months in prison.

Hunting otters is permitted only under a special licence from Natural England.

Mr Agar said: “The river’s a mile away. It must be living somewhere close by.

It spoils everyone’s enjoyment of their gardens. We want someone to catch it and get rid of it.

“But no-one will do it because they’re protected. It feels like it’s got more rights than we have.”

Keith Wood, of Raby Road, who first highlighted the issue in February, said he had encountered no problems since installing an electric fence around his pond.

But he said he had heard of at least three other ponds being robbed of fish, across Newton Hall and Pity Me.

The Durham Wildlife Trust advises homeowners to put metal mesh over their ponds or install motion-activated security lights to deter the animals.