River pollution kills 1,000 fish

Environment Agency fisheries officer Jamie Benton was called out to the River Line on Thursday, August 19, after a member of the public discovered 40 dead trout in a tributary of the river.

After checking out the scene, it was discovered that all aquatic life had been killed over a 2km stretch.

Originally the Environment Agency estimated that between 100-200 trout had been killed, along with 40 brook lampreys and at least five bullheads.

But the total number of fish fatalities has since rocketed, with more than 700 brook lampreys, a protected species, dead, along with more than 200 brown trout, at least 40 bullheads, also a protected species, and three eels.

It is believed raw sewage was to blame for the deaths.

On Saturday, August 14, Southern Water's pumping station, located upstream of the dead fish on the A2100 London Road, failed and was not repaired until two days later, on August 16, when it was reported to the Environment Agency.

The Agency said it was unclear exactly how much sewage got into the river but declined to comment on whether Southern Water would be prosecuted.

It said it was classing the incident as Category 1, involving the highest level of response from specialist officers.

Jamie Benton said: "It's always upsetting when fish die on this scale. We are conducting a full and thorough investigation into this incident.

"We have taken samples from the river to see how bad the pollution is, in case we can use oxygenating equipment to rectify the situation.

"Sadly, we have concluded there is little further we can do as the pollution has already taken its toll in the environment.

"Southern Water Services have offered support and will tanker away remaining pools of sewage in the river around the pumping station.

"We welcome the public reporting the incident, which gave us an opportunity to deal with the incident swiftly.

"If anyone sees fish in distress or is aware of another environmental incident, we urge them to contact us immediately on our incident hotline 0800 80 70 60."

A spokesperson for Southern Water said: "We very much regret any pollution incident.

"Investigations are taking place to establish the cause of the incident in the River Line.

"Our crews are working to mitigate any environmental damage and we are working closely with the Environment Agency."