Upper River Slea dry spell leads to fish rescues

Hundreds of fish are being removed from a Lincolnshire river because of the recent drought.

The Environment Agency is taking roach, pike, trout, perch, chub and dace out of the Upper River Slea due to low water levels.

The fish are being removed from a stretch of the river between Cogglesford Mill downstream to Bone Mill Bridge, near to the A17 bypass.

Once water levels return to normal the river will be restocked.

Reuben Page, of the Environment Agency, said: "Water levels on this stretch of the River Slea are very low at the moment and although the fish are not currently in distress, we are acting now to prevent potential problems.

"The river has dried up downstream of Cogglesford Mill during previous drought periods so taking this action now is a sensible precaution.

"It's important we intervene as early as possible to minimise the impact of low water levels and low dissolved oxygen levels and we are continuing to urge anyone who sees fish that may be in distress to contact us."