Hundreds of fish found dead in River Weaver in Nantwich

Campaign group Clean The Weaver said pollution had affected "thousands" of fish in the river

Hundreds of fish have been found dead in a stretch of the River Weaver.

Cheshire East Council said it had completed an environmental clean-up following an "incident of pollution" on riverside park areas in Nantwich.

Local campaigners claimed a series of pollution leaks had affected potentially "thousands" of fish and had "destroyed an eco-system".

Inquires into the cause of the fish kill were ongoing, an Environment Agency (EA) spokesperson said.

They added that teams had visited the site and had carried out more testing.

Campaigners say large amounts of foam have appeared in the river

Joshua Niblett, from Clean The Weaver, said there had been "about 500-600 visibly dead fish" in the river, including some species that had been breeding for several years.

It is understood to be the second time fish were found dead in the river in just a few days.

The campaign group, which has about 800 members, was created in September to raise awareness of river pollution.

Mr Niblett, who lives nearby, said the group had also met with Kieran Mullan, MP for Crewe and Nantwich, and local councillors, in a bid to find a solution for a cleaner river.

Mr Niblett said the River Weaver had appeared to be "polluted from all avenues"

He said there had been two recent incidents of pollution on 6 and 10 of October.

The group had also used test strips to detect nitrate and sulphite levels after dead fish started to wash up and large amounts of foam started to appear.

"Foam in the water can be a natural occurrence anyway but the levels of pollution are very high," he explained.

"It's difficult to say what has caused it."

Cheshire East Council said a "large number" of dead fish and birds had been removed from the site

Cheshire East Council said work to clean-up the site, including a "large number" of dead fish, birds and debris, was carried out by the council as the work fell outside the remit of the EA.

Councillor Mick Warren added: "Our officers worked very quickly and safely to ensure that the river was cleared swiftly.

"We are awaiting further information from the EA on their enquiries into this incident."

Despite the dead fish having been removed, campaigners said they remained concerned about the high levels of the pollution that remained.