Tim would have loved the shoe-fence tribute

Some were in pairs, some came singly – all were mystifying.

They sprouted like a knobbly vine, twisting along the roadside perimeter fence of Alderney Electricity's power plant at Crabby.

Some said it was the work of a Banksy-style urban artist. Research by police reportedly found that it pointed to the possibility that drugs were entering the island. Yet another theory held that it was part of an obscure New Zealand tradition.

Some recalled seeing shoes strung up on the fence in previous years – but never in the number seen this year.

Even Facebook – a reliable conduit for most morsels of lurid island 'faction' – didn't have the answer.

Eventually I was able to track down the truth. A well-loved island fisherman, tragically lost at sea just over seven years ago, had got into the habit of hanging up old pairs of shoes on the fence as he passed it to go out fishing early in the morning.

The man, Tim Smart, had seen the phenomenon once while travelling in New Zealand years ago. There had been a fence in the middle of nowhere, full of shoes of all description. The mystery and whimsicality of it had appealed to him.

Last Saturday would have been Tim's 40th birthday. For his friends, continuing the tradition he had instigated was the perfect way to mark the milestone date.

One described how they had carted the shoes to the fence at midnight in wheelbarrows.

'Everyone was talking about it by Monday,' said the friend.

'Tim would have absolutely loved it.'

In the same kind spirit the friends will take the shoes back down at the end of next week, in another lightning strike.

Sometimes truth is even better than fiction.