LAST month's pollution of the River Leadon near Dymock was one of the worst in ten years in the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire area, according to the Environment Agency.

Many fish died as a consequence; but details as to the actual nature of the pollution have still not been made public, because investigations are ongoing and there could be legal action taken by the Agency.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency says it is working with "local farmers, communities and partners to reduce further impact to the environment".

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "On Friday July 22, we received a report of pollution in Preston Brook in Dymock, Gloucestershire, which is a tributary of the River Leadon.

"An Environment Agency officer immediately attended the site, identified the source of the pollution and stopped it."

The spokesman added: "Our teams have been out sampling over 30km of the river and working with local farmers, communities and partners to reduce further impact to the environment.

"Now the pollution has dissipated we have put a team in place to begin working on the restoration of the river and return it to its original state."

The spokesman said: "This is one of the worst pollution incidents on a water course in the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire area in the last 10 years and has resulted in a large number of the fish and invertebrate population being killed.

"Because of the on-going investigation and the fact we are still considering our enforcement response, we are unable to give any further information at this stage."

It is not the first time in recent years that the River Leadon has been polluted.

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

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.