Fish rescued from leaking Birmingham canal

Fish are put into buckets to be transferred to a different stretch of canal

A fish rescue operation at a section of leaking canal in Birmingham has begun.

A 200m (650ft) stretch around the Gas Street Basin is in the process of being drained so engineers can investigate water seeping from an aqueduct into a disused railway tunnel.

The rescue, due to have happened on Saturday, was delayed because two dams were not keeping out enough water to allow levels to drop sufficiently.

It is now expected to finish Sunday evening or Monday morning.

Rescuers stun the fish with electricity before scooping them out and putting them in buckets

Sarah Rudy from the Canal and River Trust said the water needs to be approximately knee-high for the "hundreds of fish" to be stunned by electricity before being scooped out with hand nets.

They are then to be put into bins filled with fresh water and released back into a different section of canal.

The leaking section of canal is due to be fully drained by the end of Monday.

"Once the water is out we then have the task of finding the leak and working out how we are going to fix it," Ms Rudy said.

The section of canal is due to be drained by the end of Monday