German couple return from holiday to find their house has suffered damage worth £20,000 caused by Nazi racoons Pair of raccoons are thought to have got in through a cat flap Raccoons earned Nazi moniker as they were introduced to Germany by Hermann Goering in 1934 A German couple on a dream holiday to Ecuador returned to find they had been the victim of destructive burglars - 'Nazi' raccoons! The raccoons - so-named because their forbears were released into the wild by Hitler deputy and chief hunting master of the Third Reich Hermann Goering in the 1930s - caused over £20,000 worth of damage. Gerhard and Erika George of Goeppingen were told by experts that the raccoons broke in hunting for food. Gotcha! The raccoon vandal is caught red handed rummaging for food at the German property Clean-up: The raccoons' carnage was discovered by neighbour Tina Goetz, who found two in the shower A neighbour who entered the kitchen on a daily basis to feed the couple's cats was astonished at the amount of food they were going through. 'Then I saw them in the bathroom!' said Tina Goetz. They must have got in through the cat flap. The mess was indescribable. I came in and saw two of them sitting on a towel in the shower cabinet. Firemen and police cleared the house of the invaders, who put up a fight and attempted to bite the team. They were taken four miles away to a wood and released. Nazi raccoons have been on the march across Europe for over the last decade. About one million Nazi-bred raccoons are over-running Germany, while their numbers are also set to grow in the UK. The furry animals are killing partridges and pheasants in the countryside and invading gardens, overturning trash bins and stealing pet food in the urban areas. Firemen and police cleared the house of the raccoons, which put up a fight and attempted to bite the team Emergency services were called and managed to capture the animals using nets and a cage The animals were taken four miles away to a wood and released. The raccoons have spread through Germany since their introduction in 1934 Native of North America, a pair of raccoons were introduced to Germany's forests in 1934 by Goering to enrich the local fauna. But owing to the racoons' fast breeding, Germany's woodlands were soon overrun with the little black masked creatures. Hunters are trying to stem the striped-tide, but despite a record of 67,700 killings in 2011, the army of raccoons are still on the march, due to their reproducing speed and the absence of natural predators. From Germany, the raccoons have spread to France, Eastern Europe and Russia. In the UK raccoons have been spotted in Surrey, west Berkshire and Portsmouth. Following a 2007 change to the law in Britain they can now be kept as pets without a licence.