Baffled but determined to solve the mystery, Mr. Mckears decided to empty out the tub and scatter its contents around. He was astonished to find that sure enough, everything was back in its place the next morning. Something was definitely afoot.
Enlisting the help of friend and neighbor Rodney Holbrook, they decided to set up a trail camera to catch the helpful ghost once and for all. Mr. Holbrook is a keen wildlife photographer, so he has experience in tracking down mystery visitors. What they found was adorably unexpected – a cute and determined mouse lifting objects twice its size in an effort to keep its ‘home’ clean.
“I’ve been calling him Brexit Mouse because he’s been stockpiling for Brexit,” Mr. Mckears said.
“The heaviest thing was the plastic attachment at the end of a hosepipe – and the chain of an electric drill. I didn’t know what it was at first. The kids were saying it was a ghost.”
“One day I emptied the tub out and spread the contents on the side – and the next day they were all back in again. I thought I was going mad.”
Mr. Holbrook was astonished at the mouse’s diligent behavior. “I’ve been calling him Metal Mickey but some people have been saying he’s just mouse proud,” he joked.
“I was quite amazed to see it – it is an amazing mouse.”
“Steve asked if he could use my trail camera to film whatever it was that was moving the objects in his shed.”
“The mouse was chucking things into the box – we thought it was a ghost or something at first. I thought I have to see this for myself.”
It seems that the mouse goes on-shift from around midnight to 2.30am – and has been doing its cleaning duties every night for about a month now.
“It was doing it for about two hours that night – he must have had to go for a sleep after it,” Mr. Mckears said.
“I’ve seen a mouse moving objects to make a nest but never metal objects. It’s quite amazing.”
“It’s still busy doing it now.”