River Honddu farm slurry pollution 'contained'

NRW said only a small number of dead fish have been found so far

Slurry which caused "major pollution" in a river in Monmouthshire has been contained.

A slurry lagoon near Abergavenny failed on Tuesday and discharged into a tributary of the River Honddu.

The lagoon contained about 450,000 litres (99,000 gallons) of slurry and it is thought up to three quarters has been prevented from entering the river.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said prompt action had "averted a serious environmental incident".

It has been working with the Environment Agency (EA) and Welsh Water to divert a tributary of the river upstream. Temporary catch pits have also been dug to catch as much escaping slurry as possible.

NRW said early indications show the actions taken have restricted the worst of the impact to the tributary of the River Honddu, with only a small number of dead fish found so far.

Close monitoring also continues on the Rivers Monnow and Wye, as the slurry continues to travel downstream.

Steve Morgan from NRW said they are continuing to do everything they can to reduce the impact on the environment and wildlife.

Experts will remain on site assessing the impact of the pollution on fish and other river life

"We're already in touch with angling clubs and other stakeholders who will be concerned about this incident and we'll keep them in the loop with the latest developments," he said.

Mr Morgan added once they are happy the remaining slurry has been dealt with, they will be focusing their efforts on how the pollution happened and what action needs to be taken against those responsible.