The identity of litter louts who spent months leaving half-eaten chocolate bars across a housing estate has been revealed – as greedy squirrels.
People living on Dudley Crescent in Ellesmere Port set out to catch whoever it was after nibble Blue Riband bars kept appearing. They even dubbed the saga "Wafergate" on their WhatsApp group with a number of theories and accusations spreading through the community.
The mystery was finally solved after someone who works in a nearby caravan storage facility spotted dozens of Blue Ribands inside a skip. Squirrels were also spotted running up a tree with wrappers.
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Fiona Downes, 33, who lives on the street said: “I first noticed all these wrappers back in September. We live on a private estate on an ex-RAF base – it’s a very close-knit community.
“I was walking my children and suddenly noticed there’s loads of Blue Riband wrappers everywhere. I posted a picture on our WhatsApp group, asking people to please pick up their wrappers if they've been eating chocolate bars.”
But nobody confessed and as the months rolled on more and more wrappers and half-eaten chocolate bars appeared.
Fiona, a full-time mum, said: “It became a big topic among residents. Everyone was desperate to uncover the culprit. It was a big mystery. People were getting annoyed, thinking someone was just littering. While others thought maybe it’s the bin men. Suspicions were growing.”
All became clear last month when a box of Blue Ribands was spotted inside a skip on a site just behind the estate. One woman, Natalie Clarke, even managed to snap pictures of squirrels scurrying up a tree, chocolate in its mouth.
Fiona said: “Squirrels had clearly been in there and stolen them all. We don’t know where their stash is but there was definitely some kind of box of the chocolate bars in the skip.
“It only took three months to work out!”
Natalie, 42, added: "We spent months finding these wrappers, we all got a bit obsessed and were trying to hunt people down. We were trying to work out who buys wafers from Aldi before we realised that squirrels were doing it.
"When I saw them I was like 'oh my God I've finally found proof'. The sheer volume of the bars honestly, they must be going through 100 of them a week."
Fiona said: “Once somebody had posted the pictures of squirrels it took the excitement away.
“Then it seemed to calm down and we thought they might have finished their supply but in the past few days lots of the wrappers have been appearing again. We’re not sure why the chocolate was left on our property. Maybe it was an out-of-date box."
Fiona added that the whole saga has been “a good bit of fun.” She said: “I'd like to know how a squirrel opens a chocolate bar.”
Since being discovered as the true culprits, the squirrels are said to be on a chocolate rampage. Natalie, also a full-time mum, said: "They have ramped it up even more since we found out, every day I'm picking up wrappers out of rose bushes.
"It's been hilarious working it out."
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