New Forest fishery owner says extreme heat is causing fish deaths

Trout are among the most susceptible to the extreme temperatures, according to the fishery

A fishery owner says he is fighting a losing battle with fish in his lakes dying as a result of the dry weather and extreme temperatures.

Rockbourne Trout Fishery in the New Forest said it was having to use aerators to boost levels of oxygen.

Meanwhile, carp have been seen struggling as water levels have dropped at Elmore Lake in Lee-on-the-Solent.

Resident Linda Taylor said she noticed problems two weeks ago and had never seen it so bad.

Ms Taylor, who has lived in the area for 40 years, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. : "There's dead and dying fish down there - at least half a dozen that I saw.

Carp have been reported dying in Elmore Lake in Lee-on-the-Solent

"There's hardly any water there, I know it got very low in the drought of 1976 but I've never seen it like this. It's so upsetting."

A spokesperson for Gosport Borough Council said it was working with the Environment Agency to monitor water levels and the welfare of the fish.

Rockbourne Trout Fishery, near Fordingbridge, has six lakes, but three of them are closed as it is too warm for them to be fished in.

Owner Peter Spratt said he was finding dead trout in the "stew ponds", the nurseries where young fish are kept until they are released into the lakes.

Environment Agency officers were seen rescuing fish in the River Mole in Surrey on Thursday

The lakes are fed by springs from Sweatfords Water, a tributary from the Hampshire Avon, but Mr Spratt, 65, said the chalk stream river was "very, very low, the lowest I've ever known".

"This is the hottest we've ever had it, we're fighting a losing battle and there's nothing we can do", he said.

"We're not getting anyone through the door either. Our expenses have gone through the roof too, we had an electricity bill last month for £2,800, it used to be £800," he added.