From the files:

Raccoons - 21/10/86
'Raccoons found in a derelict van' - Two raccoons and their 12 week old baby are being cared for at the RSPCA's animal sanctuary at Hatch Beauchamp, near Somerset after being found in a derelict van at Lancing, Sussex. Colin Sneddon, of the RSPCA said: "The owner did not have a license for them and was persuaded to let us bring them here until we can find them a better home.'

Mink - 31/10/81
'A pack of 30 mink bred for the fur trade are still on the loose after escaping from a mink farm at Newingreen, near Folkestone, during the hurricane two weeks ago. The animals are worth £30 each.'

Sturgeon - 8/12/86
'A 15lb 3ft 6" sturgeon - the fish whose roe makes caviar - has been caught off the Sussex coast by Mr Richard Goodsell, 32, of Rye. It has been offered to the Queen, according to ancient tradition. It is worth about £150 and is te first to be caught in the area for 36 years.'

4/3/88 - Cliffe - 'Farmer Mr Jasper Wright of Buckland farm, Cliffe, has caught a rare wild mink which had been taking his ducks.'

Whale - 11/4/87
''The body of a 20ft whale was washed up on the beach at Rottingdean, Sussex yesterday.'