The Grosvenor Pulford Hotel, near Chester, installed CCTV cameras after the disappearance of the expensive fish, the BBC reports.

The cameras subsequently captured footage of a “sneaky” otter entering the hotel’s Asian sensory garden – despite its protection by electric fences – and successfully making off with a carp.

Andrew Nelson, director of owner Nelson Hotels & Inns, said it was “definitely a surprise to find that an otter was the culprit for our huge loss of fish”.

The hotel is now “trying to find a solution to prevent any further loss”, he said.