Man cautioned on poaching fish

An Eastern European man has been cautioned for poaching carp and bream worth £1,000 from a pool near Shifnal.

Three men were arrested in the middle of the night. They had 20 dead fish with them.

They were found at Tong Church Pool in the early hours of last Saturday.

Members of Weston-under-Lizard Angling Club caught them after noticing signs people had been fishing there at night for several days.

The club put together a rota to check up and two fisherman spotted the group.

They locked the gate to the pool and called Shifnal police who later arrested three men. One accepted a caution for theft and two were released without charge.

Fishermen and police have also received scores of other reports of poaching in west Staffordshire and Shropshire in recent months.

It is not known whether the thieves were aware what they were doing was illegal. In many areas of Eastern Europe carp are commonly eaten and there are few restrictions on fishing.

Clive Blakemore is chairman of the fishing club and a rural police liaison officer for the Stafford area.

He said there appeared to be an ongoing problem with Eastern European people working agricultural jobs and poaching from private pools or rivers for food.

He and Stafford-based police are planning to visit farms in the area with notices explaining the law and fishing regulations.

Mr Blakemore said, from the fishing club's point of view, the theft was devastating.