Tree surgeon fined £300 for swallowing goldfish

A TREE surgeon filmed swallowing a live goldfish at a funfair and washing it down with a beer has been fined £300 for animal cruelty.

Josh Coles, 27, was filmed in September putting the fish he won at the fair in his mouth.

Exeter magistrates heard Coles was ‘amused and bemused’ by the police investigation, saying it was ‘only a goldfish’. He admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

The 14-second video – taken at the Bridgwater Fair in Somerset and posted online by Coles’s girlfriend – showed him holding the fish in his right hand before putting it into his mouth.

The clip showed he then drank half a pint of beer before opening his mouth to show his friends that he had swallowed the fish.

The court heard that Coles, from Tiverton, Devon, was a ‘class clown’ who showed off in front of people. Vet David Martin told the court the goldfish was alive when it was swallowed.

Prosecutor Lindi Meyer said Coles was ‘egged on’ by two other people who laughed as he carried out the act. ‘He caused the death of the animal,’ she added.

Coles was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and five days of rehabilitation. He was also ordered to pay £300 and banned from keeping fish for five years.