THERE has been a large fish kill on the River Leadon, near Dymock, because of pollution which got in last week.

It is the second time in less than one year that the Leadon has suffered from a pollution incident in the Dymock area.

The Environment Agency received a report of pollution on Preston Brook near Dymock, Gloucestershire, a tributary of the Leadon, on Friday, July 22.

At the time of going to press, sampling and monitoring is still ongoing and the nature of the pollution has not been made public.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "Our officers attended the site to assess the situation and quickly identified the source of the pollution, which has now been stopped.

"They have been out monitoring and sampling the river to try and reduce the environmental impact."

But the spokesman added: "Unfortunately, as a result of the pollution a large number of fish have been killed and we anticipate more fish are likely to be impacted as the pollutant travels along the Leadon.

"We are working closely with our partners and will continue to monitor the situation to reduce any further impact to the environment over the coming days."

Another fish kill, including salmon, was reported on the Leadon near Dymock in September last year.

The presence of a salmon in the small river should come as no surprise.

In 2009, thousands of salmon were released into the River Leadon near Ledbury, to replace fish that had been killed by pollutants.

A total of 23,500 baby salmon were placed at various places along the river after being raised at the Environment Agency’s Clywedog Dam hatchery.

In 2010, the Environment Agency revealed plans to help salmon migrate upstream.

Two small weirs were installed near Ledbury, to help salmon get over an existing weir, which was a barrier to migration.

If anyone notices signs of fish in distress, contact the incident hotline on 0800 807060.