Fire-hit Erewash canal set to be restocked with fish

A Derbyshire canal in which hundreds of fish died after a fire at a nearby recycling plant is set to be restocked.

Last September hundreds of fish died in the Erewash Canal during a two-month fire at the centre in Stanton-by-Dale.

Run-off water from the fire-fighting operation reduced oxygen levels in the canal, causing the fish to die.

The replacement fish are being driven up from part of the Kennet and Avon Canal, while lock repairs are being carried out on the Bath Flight.

The Canal and River Trust said the fish, including roach, perch and bream, will be stunned with an electric pulse, before they are taken to Erewash Canal.

The fish will be transported in vehicles with oxygenated water tanks to the waterway on the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire border,

The trust added that high levels of fish live at Caen Hill lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, so management is required to keep an ecological balance.

The recycling plant blaze, in which about 8,000 tonnes of wood and waste caught fire, was put out in November and is still under investigation.