THE FULL scale of last July's pollution of the River Leadon near Dymock has been revealed in a Environment Agency Report to Dymock Parish Council.

Last month, the Agency revealed that it had been one of the worst cases of pollution for a decade in the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire area, but no figure was given at the time for fish deaths.

But the report to Dymock Parish Council states: "Species that have been found dead include brown trout, chub, eel, dace, roach, lamprey and bream.

"We are estimating that up to 21,000 fish have been killed as a result of the include. These are the major species, but we believe there could be thousands of the lesser species that are also impacted."

On a more positive note, the report also reveals that chemistry of the water, following the pollution, is now at "acceptable levels."

The Environment agent is monitoring the system "using remote technology".

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.

The pollution incident took place on Friday, July 22, and around 30 km of the river was affected.

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 Agency is now liaising with local fishery owners to decide "how best to restore the fish stocks in the watercourse".

The report states: "This process will be ongoing for some months."

The Agency is also keen to prevent another pollution happening in the future.

The report adds: "We will be working with those responsible to prevent a similar incident from re-occurring."