One insurance adjuster should enjoy reading this claim if nothing else about it: a squirrel that broke into Honeybourne Railway Club in Worcestershire, England, caused £300 of damage after a booze-filled night trapped in the bar, reports the
BBC.
The pub’s secretary, Sam Boulter, initially thought a burglar had gained access to the establishment after seeing broken glasses and bottles strewn about the floor. Then he caught sight of a furry animal “staggering around” after emerging from a box of potato chips.
"I've never seen a drunk squirrel before,” Boulter told the
BBC. “He was sozzled and looked a bit worse for wear, shall we say."
The squirrel must have a preference for Irish ales, as it managed to turn on the Caffrey’s tap and possibly drink from it.
"He must have flung himself on the handle and drank some as he was staggering around all over the place and moving a bit slowly,” he said.
After an hour of chasing the inebriated squirrel, Boulter and two patrons eventually caught it with a wastebasket and released it outside through a window.
While a squirrel has won the trophy for this month's most amusing anecdote, those rodents may have a long way to go in order to surpass the number of claims filed to monkey-related damage.
Some that have been filed with Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) alone include:
- A monkey that stole a phone out of a tourist’s shirt pocket and threw it on a concrete floor, demolishing it
- A monkey that snatched someone’s backpack containing food, cash and personal items
- A monkey that reached through a hotel window and took a guests’ mobile phone and toiletries
"Though monkeys play to their audience, they are fiendishly clever and, ultimately, wild animals - with teeth, claws and quick hands," SCTI warns.
