Mystery surrounds bizarre discovery of fish in Horsham garden

The strange sight greeted Coral Grainger when she went into the garden of her home in Gorings Mead on Monday.

"My dad and I went down the garden to feed the rabbits, on our way back I spotted the fish in the grass, called my dad over and yelled out ‘how did that get there?’

"My dad then joked about how in storms in can rain fish.”

And the discovery prompted more jokes when Coral posted news of it on social media. "Anyone else find a big dead fish in their garden today?” she asked.

The question prompted a flurry of wisecracks. Some suggested it was “a gift from Cod” while others quipped: "Just another lost sole” and one simply exclaimed: “Holy mackerel!”

One person queried: “Is it dead or just injured? I know a good sturgeon.” Another suggested: “May be a red herring.”

And another: “I think someone threw it just for the halibet …”

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One wondered if it could be a sign of the apocalypse. But Coral had a more down to earth theory. “It had a bite mark out of it so we assumed a bird dropped it.”

The fish – which Coral affectionately named Nemo – was later wrapped in kitchen roll and given a bin burial.

Fish were reported to have ‘rained’ from the sky in Texas last year. The phenomenon, known as 'animal rain', is said to be caused by tornadic waterspouts.