As you struggle to remove the congealed bread sauce from your u-bend this Boxing Day, spare a thought for the marine researchers of Kolgrafaförðjur, Iceland.

The fish-folk have been tasked with removing up to 50,000 tonnes of herring from a fjord. The fish regularly visit the inlet at this time of year, but since a bridge was constructed over it in 2004 (bringing with it some landfill) the water has been deprived of oxygen - resulting in an annual herring apocalypse.

Sound seems to be the key to fish-frightening, and the research team have tried piping scary orca noises into the fjord - but no joy. Even explosions haven’t worked.

In desperation, the researchers turned to a couple of Rolling Stones songs. Sadly, this was a satisfaction-free exercise too. Bogof’s tip? If you want something really scary, play some of Mick Jagger’s solo stuff, and watch the fishies flee.

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