Pollution-hit canal to be restocked

Fish are to be reintroduced to the Shropshire Union Canal at Market Drayton after pollution levels dropped.

The Environment Agency has said toxic pollution detected in the canal had eased enough for it to be restocked with fish rescued from the Crane Brook, Norton Canes, Staffordshire. About 400 roach were threatened when the water level dropped in the hot weather.

It said the emergency fish rescue was good news for anglers on the Shropshire Union Canal and Staffordshire and Worcester Canal after both were hit by chemical pollution from a sewage plant a month ago.

Ammonia is believed to have leaked into the waters near Wolverhampton.

Tests last month showed traces of the pollution had reached Market Drayton.

Derek Dennis, an agency fisheries officer who carried out the rescue, said: "The waters of the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal were hit badly by the pollution incident last month and the rescue presented a chance to start repairing some of the damage, which is great news for anglers."

Over the past month British Waterways and the agency have worked hard to reduce the impact of the pollution on both canals.

The agency, which said as many as 50,000 fish died as a result, is investigating to determine who is responsible and identify the source of the pollution.