A devious heron has been caught on camera terrorising a man’s beloved goldfish.

Mike Durston, from Bugford near Dartmouth, decided to investigate after the cunning predator halved the fish population in his garden pond.

He caught the bird in the act after installing a special wildlife camera to capture the action.

The camera snapped the heron with a large dead fish in its mouth in the early hours of Wednesday, July 4.

He said it stabs the fish with its beak, carrying the small ones away in the direction of Strawberry Valley, but leaving the bigger ones dead in the pond.

Mike said the heron aims for the shallow end to get its meals.

Since the attacks the remaining fish have hidden themselves away at the bottom of the pond.

While Mike has found dead fish in the heron’s beak before, this is the first time he has managed to catch the act on camera.