More reports of dead fish in parts of the River Avon in Warwickshire

More reports of large numbers of dead fish being seen in the River Avon in Warwickshire have come in this week.

Last week, Warwickshire World received grave reports from Barford angler Craig Harrison who had seen “hundreds” of dead fish in the river near Warwick. Since then, readers from other parts of the county have been in touch to say they have seen large numbers of dead fish in other parts of the river and fear that the water has been polluted.

A Rugby resident, who requested not to be named, said he has seen many dead fish from Long Lawford to Brandon and Wolston.

"The River Avon has lost all its fish,” he added.

“Please pressurise the Environment Agency to release its findings.

"I’m sure it’s not the hot weather or storm as the fish in the three Kings Newnham ponds were fine, it was just the river. It looks like all the wildlife that relies on these fish will now perish too, from otters to Kingfishers.”

Matthew Ball said he was kayaking on the river at Kenilworth over the weekend.

He said: “We saw a lot of dead fish on the water which absolutely stank of urine or ammonia.

"We were wondering if maybe something had ended up in the water there it was the water then we saw the report from Barford.”

An Environment Agency spokesman said that during the summer Environment Agency staff respond to many reports of fish in distress.

They added: "Water naturally carries less oxygen during hot dry spells and prolonged warm dry weather can affect fish in rivers, canals and still waters.

“Intense summer rainstorms, particularly after a period of prolonged warm weather, will inevitably wash material into watercourses which has built up on roads and in gullies and drainage systems.

“Once in a watercourse, this material will further deplete the water of oxygen, and can lead to serious fish mortalities. Where these watercourses are already vulnerable because of elevated water temperatures and lower flows, these impacts can be amplified.

“We are currently assessing each report to see what action can be taken and are providing advice as required.

“Our teams are monitoring the watercourses and our Fisheries Officers are providing remediation advice to fishery owners.

“The Canal and River Trust has deployed fisheries contractors to undertake aeration activities on affected canals.

“We encourage people to report any distressed or dead fish to our hotline on 0800 80 70 60.”

Mr Harrison, of the Barford Angling Association, fears it could take up to ten years before the number of fish returns to its previous level before the incident.

He said: “We have been promised a restocking programme to start at the end of this year.

"But the EA’s Calverton fish farm, the only official site for restocking UK rivers - is under considerable pressure.

“This will be a five-year minimum recovery programme.”