A CAERLEON drama school has replaced their stolen stuffed catfish mascot with a replica after spotting one online.

Boris the catfish, The Cast drama school’s five-feet long talisman had featured in the school’s shows for 10 years, and was stolen from teacher Jamie Jarvis’ car on Mill Street last September along with £200 worth of props.

After a long search, another stuffed fish was spotted online and Mr Jarvis bought it for about £130. It was shipped over from the United States just before Christmas.

He said: “We spoke to the milkman, the dustman, and everyone was talking about it. So the search was on for Boris – but now we’ve got a new one. The kids were over the moon when we got it. It was fantastic.”

Mr Jarvis and his partner Andrea Lewis run The Cast, which provides classes for more than 200 children in Caerleon, Newport and Cardiff. Mr Jarvis said he was unsure whether to call the new fish Boris or change its name to Doris.

He said of the new fish: “You can really cuddle it and I use it as a bit of a motivator.

“If the kids aren’t singing loud enough they might get a whack on the head! We’re really chuffed and it’s a really happy ending. I really thought someone would throw it back over the fence. We really thought there might be a ransom note. or a fin or a tail or a little picture of him. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”

A Gwent Police spokeswoman confirmed the original Boris has not been recovered.