Three Mile Water: Investigation into river fish kill

An investigation is under way after a number of fish were killed in a river in County Antrim.

It happened at Three Mile Water, near Mossley Mill, in Newtownabbey.

A local angling group said hundreds of trout and salmon were affected.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) said the fish kill was being classed as "moderate. It is investigating the cause.

Conservationists said the cause of the fish kill was not clear at this stage

In a statement, the NIEA said it was alerted on Tuesday after receiving a water pollution report from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

It said a water quality inspector "was able to quickly confirm the presence of a significant number of dead fish".

"From his initial investigation, the river was noted to be running visibly clear with no signs or odours of untreated sewage or agricultural effluents which are often associated with impact on fisheries," a spokesman said.

Water samples were taken away for testing to confirm if a chemical pollutant caused the fish kill.

Andrew Moore of Three Mile Water Conservation and Angling Association said what happened was a mystery at this stage.

"If you're looking at the river, you wouldn't realise that it's polluted - apart from the dead fish, it's completely clear and there's no smell," he said.

"That's what has us baffled, and I understand it has the Environment Agency baffled too."