Certain claims appear to be fishy

Its annual round-up of quirky claims includes numerous examples of pets being blamed for household breakages.

One claimant's digital radio was worse for wear after his granddaughter placed it in the garden pond hoping the music would "make [the fish] dance".

Hamsters, chickens and rabbits were also responsible for other claims.

'Being sensible'

In one case, a claimant came home to find a pet labrador had managed to trail white emulsion across the living room, after wagging his tail into the remnants of a paint tray.

Another case revolved around a goldfish whose bowl was smashed, after a pool player had hit the ball with such gusto, that the ball leapt off the table and hit a balcony before breaking the bowl.

But animals alone were not the cause of strange claims.

In trying to destroy a speed camera, one driver had ended up ruining his car - by crashing into the device. He then claimed it had been an accident.

"We may try and anticipate accidents to help make our lives as safe as possible, yet as our postbag shows, we cannot prevent all accident from happening, no matter how careful we are," said Phil Loney, managing director of Lloyds TSB.