WHEN Matthew and Hayley Wright won two goldfish at a funfair in Cheltenham in 1977, they never thought they would still be part of the family 33 years later.

Matthew was just nine years old when he and his six-year-old sister Hayley were taken to Danter's funfair at Cox's Meadow, next to Old Bath Road.

They returned home with their prizes – named Splish and Splash – and put them in a Pyrex bowl.

And the pets are still happily swimming in their tank today.

Hayley, now 41, and Matthew, 38, both left home and started their own families, but Splish and Splash have remained a constant in their parents' lives at their home in Wye Road, Brockworth, ever since.

The pair's dad Richard, 66, said: "It's amazing how long they've survived. We never dreamt when the children won the fish they would still be here now.

"We have not given them any kind of special treatment – they just seem to have gone on and on.

"When we first had them we put them in a Pyrex bowl and then an old plastic tank, where they stayed until 2004.

"The whole business of taking the fish out and washing it got too much for us and I went out just after I'd retired and bought a tank with a filter system for them."

William Danter, whose grandfather Billy ran the funfair where Hayley and Matthew won their fish, said he thought they were probably given as prizes in a darts or hook-a-duck competition.

He said: "The fair ran on Cox's Meadow for decades until they put in flood works about six years ago.

"There weren't many different types of game back then.

"I think the fish would have come from a company who distributed them to funfairs around the country.

"They would have been difficult to transfer around so it could have come from a local source.

"We don't give goldfish away any more, it's become a bit of a political and cultural no-no."

Although remarkable, Splish and Splash are some way off setting a new world record.

It is thought Britain's oldest goldfish, called Tish, died in 1999 at the age of 43 after being won by a woman from Yorkshire at a fair in 1956.

Richard, a retired human resources consultant, said: "Splish and Splash's new tank is about 18in long, 9in deep and 1ft high. I call it their retirement home.

"We just feed them normal goldfish food, nothing special, but they seem to have thrived on it because over the years they've grown to 5in long.

"In the past few years they have lost their gold colour and are now silvery, but otherwise they look fine. I don't know why they have done so well, but they have."

Richard said that Hayley and Matthew soon lost interest in the fish and it was down to their mum and dad to look after them.

"Matthew is probably more interested now than he was then because he keeps tropical fish as a hobby these days," said Richard.

"Our two grandchildren, Ethan, who's seven, and Owen, who's three, love seeing the fish when they come to visit.

"Perhaps Splish and Splash will still be around when they are grown up."

Common goldfish normally last for between five and 15 years, depending on their living conditions.

Andrew Parr, manager of Bloodworth's pet store in Bath Road, Cheltenham, said he had heard of fish living to 20 or 25 years of age. He said: "It all comes down to how well the fish are looked after and what size tank you have. It is quite an achievement to live to 33."

Lisa Ashford-Smith, manager of The Aquatic Habitat, in Brockworth, said: "If parents come in with their young children and ask how long they will live we say 'you'll take them to university with you'.

"If they're kept in an aquarium you might expect them to last 15 to 20 years but to be swimming strong aged 33 is impressive."

OPINION, P8